Young advocates congratulated

MEMBERS of the inaugural Ballarat Live4Life Crew have been recognised for their efforts to address mental health issues in Ballarat.

The group became mental health ambassadors for their schools to help reduce the stigma associated with mental health.

An end-of-year celebration was held at RACV Goldfields in Creswick last month, at which 36 members received a commendation for their efforts.

The City of Ballarat’s Cr Des Hudson congratulated the students on their work.

“We know that youth mental health is such a key issue at the moment and that there is a long road ahead,” he said.

“These Live4Life Crew members have dedicated so much of their own time for a truly vital cause and their efforts would have already improved the mental health and wellbeing of many young people in Ballarat.”

The crew was made up of Year 9 students from eight schools who took part in teen mental health first aid training as Year 8 students in 2023.

The group organised events in their community such as awareness campaigns, bake sales, staff versus students netball matches, sausage sizzles and year level assemblies around the theme ‘talking is tough, we don’t do it enough’.

Almost 3500 young people have participated in teen mental health first aid since Live4Life began in Ballarat in 2023.

Another 3500 will be trained next year.