wellbeing@gec
Enhancing mental health support in schools
To support school communities to effectively identify and intervene early with the mental health needs of children and young people, the Victorian Government has announced the Victorian Anti-Bullying and Mental Health Initiative (VABMHI).
One of the aims of this initiative is to provide enhanced mental health services to young people in Victorian government secondary schools in 2018.
The Department has partnered with headspace to deliver this mental health support through one on one student counselling sessions for students in Victorian government secondary schools. These sessions are designed to increase the availability of mental health support for students, improve mental health outcomes and assist students in finding the right support as appropriate.
Secondary students of Victorian government schools will have easier access to face-to-face and telephone counselling services from headspace. Students can access one on one counselling services via a referral made through a centralised contact person within their school. The contact person at Glen Eira College is Wellbeing Leader Jenny Sanchez.
To be eligible for this service at Glen Eira College students must be identified as experiencing mild to moderate mental health issues. Further information for parents is provided in a factsheet which you are invited to access through the following link:
If you would like further information please contact Wellbeing Leader Jenny Sanchez on 9571 7838 or email wellbeing@gec.vic.edu.au.
Supporting adolescents to understand the harms of substance use
The Wellbeing Team supports students to understand the harms of substance use, and how to support their classmates and friends on minimizing their risk of harm when faced with substances.
The Wellbeing Team would like to inform students and their families of free resources that are available to them if required. The Youth Drug And Alcohol Advice (YoDAA) website, provided by the Youth Support & Advocacy Service (YSAS) has a range of resources for families, carers and youth. These respond to FAQs, as well as outlining harm minimisation strategies and other information.
These resources are accessible from: http://yodaa.org.au/youth?site=youth & http://yodaa.org.au/families-carers?site=family
For additional information and service support available for youth, the YSAS website is accessible from: http://www.ysas.org.au/
Should you, or a family member be struggling with alcohol and other drug use, contact the Substance Use Recovery (SURe) service for advice and support on 1300 00 SURe (7873) or visit their website at: http://www.sureaod.org.au/
TaskForce also provide programs and advice for adult & youth services in the South East region, visit their website at: http://www.taskforce.org.au/
Adolescent Health Nurse: Christalia Formoso
Student Support Worker: Morgan Hunter
Wellbeing Leader: Jenny Sanchez