Nearly 40 young people from eight secondary schools across Baw Baw Shire Council were inducted as local mental health ambassadors today, with the latest Live4Life crew ready to tackle youth mental health head on.
Thirty-five Year 9 and 10 students attended the induction at the West Gippsland Arts Centre, which was an opportunity to welcome the Live4Life Baw Baw crew for the new year and allow the 2024 crew the chance to get to know one another and set their 2024 theme of, Connect to Protect.
These students will volunteer their time this year and act as ambassadors within their schools, social circles, and the broader community, to promote positive mental health messaging among young people. They will plan events and develop mental health awareness activities, to help reduce the stigma around mental health, while also learning how to recognise the signs of at-risk behaviours and poorer mental health.
Together with schools and a number of local organisations and community members, Baw Baw Shire Council is proud to support Live4Life.
Live4Life is a health promotion charity, using the Live4Life model to support rural and regional communities and their young people. Live4Life delivers evidence-based mental health education in schools and the wider community and helps create local partnerships to lead conversations about mental health.
Baw Baw Shire Mayor Cr Annemarie McCabe said she is proud of Council’s involvement with Live4Life, which currently operates in 11 rural and regional communities across Victoria, creating positive change and transforming the lives of young people.
“Youth mental health is an ongoing issue not only in our community, but all across the world, and I am proud to lead a Council that is determined to make a difference in this space,” Cr McCabe said.
“Approximately one in four young Australians experience a common mental health problem each year, and it’s important that we provide these people with the help and support they need – Live4Life is one localised program setting out to do just this.”
On Monday 22 April the official launch for 2024 will take place, followed by a full day workshop on Tuesday 30 April, which will see the entire crew come together as a group to do further planning for their mental health awareness activities for the year, which they will then embed into their schools’ programming.
If youth mental health is something you’re passionate about, or want to learn more on, you can attend a local Youth Mental Health First Aid training program in March. This training session is subsidised for the community by Baw Baw Live4Life.
