Live4Life

Live4Life is a program to support rural and regional communities and their young people to feel empowered to support, improve and invest in young people’s mental health, with the aim of reducing youth suicide. Live4Life is the only mental health education and youth suicide prevention model designed specifically for rural and regional communities. Live4Life’s purpose is to reduce youth suicide in rural communities by: • Reducing barriers that prevent young people from seeking help • Decreasing mental health stigma • Increasing awareness of local professional help • Increasing the mental health knowledge of secondary school-aged students, teachers, parents, carers and community members; and • Building community resilience in addressing mental ill-health. All secondary schools across the Wellington Network have come together to deliver the Live4Life program which will provide Teen & Youth Mental Health Frist Aid training in our schools and the wider community. Maffra Secondary College has formed a local partnership with our secondary counterparts and local organisations to lead conversations about mental health that help to reduce the stigma and promote young leaders as mental health ambassadors. Through the delivery of this evidence-based suicide prevention and mental health education program in this community, the Life4Life model ensures consistent, research-based messages and consistent knowledge and language that encourages positive help-seeking behaviours. This includes; identifying and training local community members, delivering youth mental health first aid courses to teachers, parents, carers and community leaders and delivering tailored teen mental health first aid courses to all Year 8 and Year 10 students across all schools in our community. Building on our successful ‘Wellbeing’ days, Year 9 students have been offered the opportunity to become a Live4Life ‘CREW’ member where they will work collaboratively with students from each of the schools in the Wellington Shire to develop ideas and assist in the delivery of events which drive the key Live4Life messages at each school and in our community. The CREW will be supported by our local council, individual schools and members of the Live4life team. This role provides young people the opportunity to be leaders where all CREW members will become mental health advocates both within our school and beyond in the local community. We look forward to communicating more information to you about Live4life through our Newsletter and our school Facebook page.