Youth Mental Health Project
An initiative of the Youth Committee, the Youth Mental Health Project is a long-term program to be implemented across Bayside over a number of years. The objective of the project is to deliver mental health first aid courses that will ultimately improve the mental health of youth in our local area.
Hampton Rotary have entered a partnership with the Rotary Club of Brighton North (from District 9800) for the roll-out of Mental Health First Aid courses in two areas:
- Youth Mental Health First Aid- this course targets adults who work with youth, such as school staff, parents, sports coaches, community group leaders, youth leaders, police. - adults learn how to assist adolescents who are developing a mental illness, experiencing a worsening of an existing mental health problem or in a mental health crisis, until appropriate professional help is received or the crisis resolves.
- Teen Mental Health First Aid- this course is for high school students in years 7-9 and years 10-12. Students learn about a range of mental health illnesses such as depression and anxiety, eating disorders, suicide tendencies, and how to provide support and mental health first aid to their friends.
We were thrilled that the first Youth Mental Health First Aid training course held in March 2020 at the Beaumaris Community Centre, was fully booked and had participants from a cross-section of organisations, from primary and secondary schools, community service groups, police and education consultancies.
Everyone came away with a better understanding of what signs to recognize when youth are struggling with their mental health, and strategies for how best to assist them.
This is an exciting and important project, particularly given the mental health issues arising during the COVID lockdowns.
Second Course – 26th November & 3rd December 2021
The second training course was held for adults in Bayside working or volunteering with youth. This project was generously supported by Rotary Foundation with a District Grant, so the Club is very grateful for this financial assistance to offer this very worthwhile course for adults in our community.
Over a full two-days, the course trainer shared the signs and profiles of a range of mental health problems that youth can exhibit and then, through case study videos and group discussion, outlined the Mental Health First Aid Action Plan.
With almost 27% of young people aged 16-24 suffering from a mental health problem at least once, this course certainly helped to boost the participants’ understanding, confidence and competency to help young people who may be showing the signs of mental health problems or illness.
Fully booked course 6th and 13th May 2022
The attendees for this program included teachers and support staff from secondary colleges, mental health service providers, community service organisations, allied health professionals and parents.
This is now the third time Hampton Rotary has run this course as part of its partnership with Brighton North Rotary, and in total, more than 80 people have benefited from this course over the past year. The course has been offered as a free community service by Rotary, and we would like to acknowledge the support of the Rotary Foundation which has supported us with funding to enable us to deliver this program.
For further information you can also visit the website at:
https://youthsuicideawareness.com.au/training/
Further enquiries can be directed to:
Christine Lindsey
Chair – Youth Committee
Email: Christine.lindsey@gmail.com