Great South Coast supporting youth mental health and wellbeing.

2019 Live4Life Crew Event, Photographer Michael Peters.

The impact of the pandemic on young people has been substantial. There is a real and immediate need to focus on the mental health of young people in our community, Youth Live4Life, in collaboration with local communities are seeking suitably qualified and experienced community members to become Teen Mental Health First Aid instructors.

Throughout the pandemic young people have experienced higher rates of loneliness, educational disruption, and psychological distress.  In partnership with the Great South Coast Suicide Prevention Place-Based Trial, Department of Health and Western Victoria Primary Health Network, Youth Live4Life are working with representatives from across the Great South Coast region to train twelve additional community members to become Teen Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Instructors. 

The training of the community-based Instructors will be provided for free, and once trained, the Instructors will work with local advisory groups, community groups and schools to implement Teen Mental Health First Aid training across the Great South Coast.  The Teen Mental Health First Aid Course teaches secondary school students in years 7-9 and 10-12, how to provide mental health first aid to their friends.  The course was developed in response to research indicating that young people prefer sharing problems with peers. 

Through the delivery of Mental Health First Aid across the Great South Coast region of Victoria - which includes the Shires of Warrnambool, Glenelg, Southern Grampians, Corangamite and Moyne -  this project aims to ensure consistent, research-based messages, knowledge and language; circulates within the community and across the whole region. This is essential to reducing mental ill health stigma, increasing mental health literacy and encouraging positive help-seeking behaviours for the young people in our Great South Coast community.

Live4Life is the only mental health education and youth suicide prevention model designed specifically for rural and regional communities.  With the continued up-skilling of local community members, the Great South Coast region can be confident that there is much being done to build the region's capacity to support, improve and invest in their young people’s mental health and wellbeing as illustrated by Glenelg Shire being recognised by Mental Health First Aid® as a ‘Champion Community’ for its commitment to improving the mental health of young people and the adults who support them. 

If you are interested in finding out more about the opportunity to become a Teen Mental Health First Aid Instructor please head to https://www.live4life.org.au/gsc-mhfa

Please note, applications close 8am on Monday, 4th April 2022.

This initiative has been developed from a partnership between Department of Health, Western Victoria Primary Health Network, Youth Live4Life and Great South Coast Suicide Prevention Place Based Trial.