Shire of East Pilbara, Western Australia (WA), received a visit last month from Mentally Healthy WA’s Act-Belong-Commit team to run a fun and interactive workshop with young people to teach them how they could boost their mental health and that of those around them.
Shire President, Lynne Craigie, said it was a great opportunity for the young people of the community to actively take steps to protect their mental health with workshops tailored to 16-24 year olds.
“Our youth are incredibly important to us and to the future of the Shire of East Pilbara, so we were pleased to support this workshop and believe it to be an excellent benefit to the young people in our community.”
Young people aged 16-24 are the most at risk of developing a mental health problem, with one in four young people experiencing a mental illness each year in Australia.
Darci Miller from Mentally Healthy WA said it’s not all bad news.
“There are things young people can do to build their resilience and ward off mental health problems.”
The ‘Youth Connectors’ workshop is based on the Act-Belong-Commit principles for good mental health, and aims to empower young people to help their peers get involved in mentally
healthy activities.
“The idea is that young people who become Connectors will be a local source of information on how to get involved in activities known to boost mental health, like sports, arts and volunteering.
“We know that young people are most likely to turn to their friends for support when things aren’t going so well, which is why it’s so important that we upskill young people to support each other and encourage each other to do things to be mentally healthy.”
