Live4Life an unstoppable force

Article in Midland Express Published 18 April 2023.

Former Macedon Ranges Live4Life crew members Talon Gostelow and Janessa Hughes.

Live4Life crews from rural and regional communities across Victoria have been named finalists in the 7News Young Achiever Awards for the ‘Group Achievement in the Community’ Award.

Since its inception in the Macedon Ranges 13 years ago, the Live4Life youth mental health model has been successfully implemented in nine communities and continues to expand.

Each Live4Life community has its own crew of youths who volunteer their time to be local mental health ambassadors.

One of the program’s original Macedon Ranges crew members, Janessa Hughes, said the program had helped to empower young people when it came to mental health.

Now with a Masters in Youth Social Work, Janessa works with Orygen Digital and says Live4Life sparked her passion in the youth mental health space.

“When Live4Life started, suddenly there were conversations taking place that had not been happening before,” she said.

“Now the program helps people understand what to do when having those tough conversations, knowing where they can go, the resources available to them, and awareness building – whether it’s for themselves and their friends, or broader than that with their family and people in the community.”

The Live4Life Crew model is innovative as the only community and school-based learning initiative that includes a peer-led, co-designed youth participation and leadership component as a key driver.

Live4Life is also the only mental health education and youth suicide prevention model designed specifically for rural communities, where the suicide rate is 40 per cent higher than urban areas and where 63 per cent of youths are unable to access mental health services.

Woodend’s Talon Costelow was a crew member from 2019 and worked with peers throughout the challenging pandemic lockdown period.

“It’s really crucial to give young people the skills to help those around them, and giving them the ability, not only to be more informed, but also to think critically about themselves and their surroundings,” he said.

“The program is building such a large culture of mental health awareness, personal skills and intellectual development. It’s creating this unstoppable force of people that can look out for each other, empower each other and have a deeper understanding and recognition.”

The Live4Life model is already planned to begin in four new communities this year and is expected to grow beyond Victoria.

Winners of the 7News Young Achiever Awards will be announced on April 28.