General News
5 April, 2022
Advocates are needed
MENTAL health advocates Live4Life are hoping to recruit a dozen passionate locals to train as teen mental health first aid (MHFA) instructors.
MENTAL health advocates Live4Life are hoping to recruit a dozen passionate locals to train as teen mental health first aid (MHFA) instructors.
The Live4Life program has identified the struggle young people have experienced throughout the pandemic due to higher rates of loneliness, educational disruption and psychological distress.
In a bid to address the growing issue, training of the community-based instructors will be provided for free.
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.
Live4Life chief executive officer Bernard Galbally said the aim of the program was to support positive mental health education in regional areas.
“Live4Life are a rural mental health and suicide prevention initiative which takes a whole community approach to providing mental health education for young people in schools,” he said.
“The model is to bring the community together with a school and community partnership involving local government, high schools, health services, other organisations like Victoria Police and they work all together.
“Most importantly, it is led by young people who volunteer to become mental health ambassadors who deliver mental health and promotional activities in their school and the wider community.”
Mr Galbally said the course was originally developed in response to research indicating young people prefer sharing problems with peers.
“One part of the Live4Life model is training up local community members to become MHFAs is something we want to expand,”
he said.
“We’re looking for 12 MHFAs to train up to be able to deliver that mental health education in schools across the great south coast.
“We have already trained up 20 community members across the great south coast, and it has been so successful we’re doing a second callout to train up more.
“It is an incredibly rewarding experience and a fantastic opportunity through a fully-funded course. Being able to go in and train young people in this vital area is very enriching.”
Through the delivery of mental health first aid across the great south coast region– which includes Corangamite and Moyne shires – the project delivers consistent, research-based messages, knowledge and language to circulate within the community and reduce mental health stigma, increase mental health literacy and encouraging positive help-seeking.
In partnership with the Great South Coast Suicide Prevention Place-Based Trial, Department of Health and Western Victoria Primary Health Network, Live4Life is the only mental health education and youth suicide prevention model designed specifically for rural and regional communities.
If you are interested in finding out more about the opportunity to become a teen mental health first aid instructor, visit www.live4life.org.au/gsc-mhfa.
Applications close 8am on Friday, April 8.