THURSDAY marked the launch of the 2024 Southern Grampians Live4Life program, with around 250 Year 8 students in attendance to discuss important topics surrounding youth mental health.

Over 500 Year 8, 9 and 10 students from Baimbridge College, Balmoral K-12 Community College, Good Shepherd College, Hamilton Parklands School, Monivae College, South West TAFE and The Hamilton and Alexandra College will take part in the Live4Life program this year.

A key component of the Live4Life program is the Crew, consisting of Year 9 and 10 students from the participating high schools in the region.

The Launch on Thursday held at Baimbridge College was the first Crew led event for the year, providing members the opportunity to introduce the program and develop their skills as leaders.

The theme created by this year’s Live4Life Southern Grampians crew will be ‘When you’re low, say hello’.

The crew aspire to encourage their peers to reach out to someone they trust when they are feeling low or aren’t tracking so well.

Guest speaker, Luke Thomson, host of the ‘Let’s Talk’ podcast, which aims to break down the stigmas surrounding mental health, presented to students at the launch.

Luke shared his personal journey with his own mental health struggles and the importance of turning to family and friends for help.

In addition to hosting his podcast, Luke is a School Services Officer at Mount Gambier High school and was the 2024 Mount Gambier Young Citizen of the Year.

One in four young people can experience mental health issues in any 12-month period, and 75 per cent of people with mental ill health have their first episode during adolescence.

Southern Grampians Live4Life coordinator, Amy Lewis said the program has helped to protect lives where it matters most.

“Everyone in the Southern Grampians can work together to save lives,” she said.

“The Live4Life Program offers mental health education and health promotion activities for young people living in rural and regional areas.”

WDHS Youth Engagement Officer, Tillee Huf said it was an important day for the crew to demonstrate their leadership skills and implement goals for the year.

“At the launch today, we inducted our 2024 Southern Grampians Live4Life crew, so they are advocates in their schools and in their community for positive mental health,” she said.

“We spoke about teen mental health first aid, messages that the Year 8s are going to receive and just generally about what events are upcoming through the year from Live4Life.

“In the program, they will have their teen mental health first aid, usually in the middle of the year, we have a promotional activity in September and our celebration is in October- so it runs all year round.”

Ms Huf also said that Southern Grampians have been doing the program since 2020 - which was a slow start due to COVID - however it is now the second year of full implementation of the program.

“Live4Life started in the Macedon Ranges Shire to build the capacity of the local community,” she said.

“It’s really important that students can lean into peer support and also easily identify adults who have completed youth mental health first aid, so they get the help they need when they need it most.

“I just think with the program, everyone can speak the same language and we can all get support, people can learn to help everyone else as well as themselves.”

Mental Health shadow minister, Emma Kealy MP also attended the launch and expressed the importance of continuing these programs and support for young people, especially for those in rural and regional areas.

“We know that access to Mental Health supports are really low, and also that we have limited funding available so it makes sense to be able to empower young people to be able to understand how they can manage their own mental health in a positive way,” she said.

“It is important they know what they can do to reach out if they are not feeling great, but also how they can support their own peers.

“It’s all about making sure that it is a positive environment when they are at school and with their friends, and that they know it’s okay to be able to speak out when things aren’t going well.”

“Today was a day where stories were told, they brought joy, smiles and many people together,” one 2024 Southern Grampians Live4Life crew member said.

Youth Live4Life will partner with Western District Health Service (lead agency), Southern Grampians Shire Council, Brophy Family and Youth Services, Wellways, YACVic, Beyond the Bell, Glenelg & Southern Grampians LLEN, South West TAFE and the participating high schools, to deliver this life-changing program in Southern Grampians.

Live4Life Southern Grampians is generously supported financially by Western District Health Service, Southern Grampians Shire Council, and the Australian Drug Foundation.