Following pandemic lockdowns and event restrictions, students from across the Glenelg Shire have come together for the first time in two years to successfully launch the Live4Life Glenelg program for 2022.
Live4Life Glenelg crews from Casterton Secondary, Bayview, Heywood and District Secondary and Portland Secondary colleges officially launch the program recently.
The event, which included crew-led speeches and activities promoting positive mental health marked the start of the sixth year of the mental health initiative.
Glenelg Shire Youth Development Officer Maddy McKinna said the event helped to introduce the ‘crews’ to the wider community.
“It was fantastic to finally bring together all of the Year 8 students from across the Shire and our Live4Life crew members, for our first combined launch in more than two years. It certainly felt like an extra special launch to have everyone present in the same room again,” she said.
“Thanks to our launch … students will be aware of who their crew representatives are at their respective school. Throughout the year crew members will champion positive mental health promotion and organise events as part of their roles as Youth Mental Health Ambassadors.
The theme for this year’s initiative in the Glenelg Shire is “Smash the Stigma” and events and activities for the 2022 program will focus on this theme.
Live4Life Glenelg crew member Sarah Camilleri said they looked forward to the year ahead.
“I joined Live4Life for a second year because it’s an experience you can never get back – you get to meet so many new and different people,” she said.
“I have also learnt so much from being a part of the Crew. You really do learn how to address and overcome the stigmas and how to support someone struggling with their mental health.”
Live4Life is an award-winning mental health education and youth suicide prevention model designed specifically for rural and regional communities.
Since its implementation in the Glenelg Shire in 2017 more than 180 young people have participated as crew members and more than 1,600 young people and 250 adults have received mental health training.
