CLEVELAND District State High School is working to make mental illness less of a taboo subject and ensure that students know where to go for help.
The school is running courses for teachers, parents and students and has teamed up with the charity Livin, which was founded to address stigma around mental illness and raise awareness for suicide prevention.
Physical education teacher Tim McKennariey said the Cleveland school would run a series of initiatives starting with a youth mental health first aid course to help parents and teachers identify signs of mental health conditions and to provide immediate assistance.
The course is delivered by Queensland Health and is fully supported by the school’s parents and citizens association.
As part of the initiative, the school will also hold a three-and-a-half-hour session for year 10 students to create awareness about mental illness and the founders of Livin will address students later in the year.
Livin co-founder Sam Webb said the program for the Cleveland school had been nine months in the making and aimed to provide tools to help students look after their friends and themselves.
Mr McKennariey said the school would also liaise with mental health service providers as part of the initiative to ensure people know where to get help.
Every phase of the school’s initiatives would be evaluated by Livin to boost the charity’s efforts to get funding for programs to be run in other schools.
The teacher said there would also be a focus on exercise to enhance mental health and students from all year levels had been invited to be part of a leadership team that would drive activities.
Livin makes extensive use of social media, Livin-branded clothing and celebrities to get people to talk about mental health so they feel comfortable about seeking help.
Mr Webb said the charity had built up a good relationship with teachers and parents at Cleveland High School.
“We have had such good support,” he said.
“We need to keep this message alive. We are hoping that if we have a successful project there, we can take it to other schools too.”
Anyone who needs assistance with issues raised here can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or via www.lifeline.org.au or Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 or via www.kidshelp.com.au
