Seventeen amazing young people just graduated from ReachOut’s Youth Ambassador program, each having spent years volunteering their time to improve our service and to raise awareness of youth mental health in their communities.
An event was held on Friday, 18 March 2016 to celebrate their contribution as Youth Ambassadors, and to mark their graduation from the program, which occurs in the year they turn 26.
ReachOut Youth Ambassadors (YAs) are tireless advocates for ReachOut and youth mental health. Among the many activities in their role as YAs, they give talks about mental health; hold stalls at their schools, universities and vocational education colleges where they speak to fellow students about ReachOut; hold fundraising events; and meet with local, state and federal politicians to speak about youth mental health.
Crucially, YAs also provide guidance on the ReachOut service to ensure that it is relevant and responsive to young people, and many of them give an enormous amount of time to building the community in our Peer Support Forums.
Graduating Youth Ambassadors Chelsea and Helen were members of the ReachOut Peer Support Forums before they became Youth Ambassadors in 2009, saying the help they found there inspired them to give back to the online community.
‘I started as a community member of the forums back when I was 14 or 15 years old. It was at the start of a really challenging time in my life. The support of the ReachOut community was paramount in helping me to get through that tough time, so when the opportunity came up to be a Youth Ambassador, I leapt at it,’ says Chelsea, from Brisbane.
Helen, a Youth Ambassador from Perth, says ‘ReachOut was the reason that I got face-to-face help. On the forums, a few of us from different parts of the country made a pact. We each said, “I'll go and see my GP this week if you do”, and we did. We all went to see our GPs in the same week, and we all went and got further help after that. I still to this day don't know who one of those people was, other than their screen name, but I’ll forever be thankful for the pact that began the journey of changing my life.’
Youth Ambassadors leave an indelible mark on ReachOut, but also on each others’ lives, says Jen, a Brisbane-based Youth Ambassador since 2011. ‘Without the support networks I’ve developed during my time at ReachOut, starting as an avid forum user in Year 12, to my first Youth Ambassador workshop and my time as a Youth Ambassador since then, I think my life would have turned out very differently. I would definitely be more alone, so thank you, because there's nothing more valuable than a friend.’
But graduating as a Youth Ambassador isn’t the end of many young people’s support of ReachOut or youth mental health.
‘I’ll miss organising events and speaking out for ReachOut. I firmly believe that ReachOut.com is the website that all young people in Australia should know about, and I will continue to recommend it to people along the way,’ adds Jen.
Chelsea agrees: ‘The skills I learnt as a Youth Ambassador have helped me immensely through my study and now in my chosen career – working in adult mental health.’
ReachOut CEO Jono Nicholas says, ‘Youth Ambassadors bravely share their personal stories about mental health, encouraging others to seek help and speaking out to reduce mental health stigma. It’s a big job for anyone, but time and time again they prove that they’re an essential part of a service designed to support their peers.’
‘Since ReachOut started in 1998, our approach to youth involvement has been a very special partnership between young people and our organisation. It has never been one of us simply delivering services to young people, it has always been us and young people delivering great services together,’ adds Jono.
‘What we need in this space are wonderful leaders who know that the best way to deliver a mental health service is in partnership with young people, rather than to young people. I see that in our graduating Youth Ambassadors and I’m confident they’ll continue to do inspiring things.’
Thank you to our graduating Youth Ambassadors of 2016: Chelsea, Helen, Jen, Jenna, Janika, Razia, Amber, Georgia, Aaron, Melanee, Suzanne, Rikki, Alex, Gabi, Samantha, Gail, and Rebecca. You’re the bomb.
Header image caption: Youth Ambassadors Razia, Jen, Chelsea, Jenna, Janika and Helen stand with Patron-in-Chief Professor the Honourable Dame Marie Bashir AD CVO and CEO Jono Nicholas at the 2016 Youth Ambassador Graduation.
An event was held on Friday, 18 March 2016 to celebrate their contribution as Youth Ambassadors, and to mark their graduation from the program, which occurs in the year they turn 26.
ReachOut Youth Ambassadors (YAs) are tireless advocates for ReachOut and youth mental health. Among the many activities in their role as YAs, they give talks about mental health; hold stalls at their schools, universities and vocational education colleges where they speak to fellow students about ReachOut; hold fundraising events; and meet with local, state and federal politicians to speak about youth mental health.
Crucially, YAs also provide guidance on the ReachOut service to ensure that it is relevant and responsive to young people, and many of them give an enormous amount of time to building the community in our Peer Support Forums.
Graduating Youth Ambassadors Chelsea and Helen were members of the ReachOut Peer Support Forums before they became Youth Ambassadors in 2009, saying the help they found there inspired them to give back to the online community.
‘I started as a community member of the forums back when I was 14 or 15 years old. It was at the start of a really challenging time in my life. The support of the ReachOut community was paramount in helping me to get through that tough time, so when the opportunity came up to be a Youth Ambassador, I leapt at it,’ says Chelsea, from Brisbane.
Helen, a Youth Ambassador from Perth, says ‘ReachOut was the reason that I got face-to-face help. On the forums, a few of us from different parts of the country made a pact. We each said, “I'll go and see my GP this week if you do”, and we did. We all went to see our GPs in the same week, and we all went and got further help after that. I still to this day don't know who one of those people was, other than their screen name, but I’ll forever be thankful for the pact that began the journey of changing my life.’
Youth Ambassadors leave an indelible mark on ReachOut, but also on each others’ lives, says Jen, a Brisbane-based Youth Ambassador since 2011. ‘Without the support networks I’ve developed during my time at ReachOut, starting as an avid forum user in Year 12, to my first Youth Ambassador workshop and my time as a Youth Ambassador since then, I think my life would have turned out very differently. I would definitely be more alone, so thank you, because there's nothing more valuable than a friend.’
But graduating as a Youth Ambassador isn’t the end of many young people’s support of ReachOut or youth mental health.
‘I’ll miss organising events and speaking out for ReachOut. I firmly believe that ReachOut.com is the website that all young people in Australia should know about, and I will continue to recommend it to people along the way,’ adds Jen.
Chelsea agrees: ‘The skills I learnt as a Youth Ambassador have helped me immensely through my study and now in my chosen career – working in adult mental health.’
ReachOut CEO Jono Nicholas says, ‘Youth Ambassadors bravely share their personal stories about mental health, encouraging others to seek help and speaking out to reduce mental health stigma. It’s a big job for anyone, but time and time again they prove that they’re an essential part of a service designed to support their peers.’
‘Since ReachOut started in 1998, our approach to youth involvement has been a very special partnership between young people and our organisation. It has never been one of us simply delivering services to young people, it has always been us and young people delivering great services together,’ adds Jono.
‘What we need in this space are wonderful leaders who know that the best way to deliver a mental health service is in partnership with young people, rather than to young people. I see that in our graduating Youth Ambassadors and I’m confident they’ll continue to do inspiring things.’
Thank you to our graduating Youth Ambassadors of 2016: Chelsea, Helen, Jen, Jenna, Janika, Razia, Amber, Georgia, Aaron, Melanee, Suzanne, Rikki, Alex, Gabi, Samantha, Gail, and Rebecca. You’re the bomb.
Header image caption: Youth Ambassadors Razia, Jen, Chelsea, Jenna, Janika and Helen stand with Patron-in-Chief Professor the Honourable Dame Marie Bashir AD CVO and CEO Jono Nicholas at the 2016 Youth Ambassador Graduation.
