Mental health advocates meet with Duke and Duchess

Former Baw Baw Live4Life crew members joined young mental health ambassadors to give a voice to regional mental health concerns in a presentation to Prince Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex during their recent visit to Melbourne.
The Regional and Rural Youth Voices: Shaping the Future of Mental Health forum allowed the young ambassadors to discuss ideas for a better mental health approach which meets their needs.
Former Live4Life Baw Baw crew members Jessica Hickford of Drouin, Regan Smith of Nilma North and Jewel Burchell-Robins now of Langwarrin were invited by youth mental health prevention organisation batyr to join 16 young people from regional and rural communities across Australia for the two-day forum.
The young advocates took part in a series of activities designed to help them safely share their experiences, explore solutions for tackling the mental health crisis in regional and rural communities, and test ideas with their peers in an open and supportive environment.
The three Baw Baw mental health ambassadors, along with a number of other past Live4Life crew members from other rural communities, had the opportunity to meet with Prince Harry and Meghan and share their experiences of challenges faced by young people in rural and regional communities.
The workshop purpose was to explore experiences and perspectives on youth mental health in regional, rural and remote communities and turn shared experiences and ideas into practical recommendations and next steps for improving youth mental health in those communities.
"It's been so nice talking the last few days about my personal experiences and getting to have an input in how that experience can help to better shape a more helpful situation for coming generations.
"Speaking to the couple and their interests felt reassuring that even people of a more influential setting want to listen to our voices and what we have to say," Jessica said.
Regan loved how Prince Harry and Meghan took time to talk to them about mental health in rural and regional areas - "Meghan even providing us with a quote which I will be framing and taking everywhere."
Meghan quoted essayist, poet, and civil rights activist Maya Angelou: "My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who and how you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness. Continue to allow humour to lighten the burden of your tender heart."
"The moment that stayed with me most was when Prince Harry opened up so vulnerably about his own mental health journey. Hearing someone of his stature open up so genuinely made me feel less alone, and it reminded me that even the most admired people can face the same struggles we do," Jewel said.
Central to the Live4Life model is the crew youth leadership component, where young people in years nine and 10 volunteer as mental health ambassadors in rural and regional communities.
Many like Baw Baw's Jessica, Regan and Jewel go on to join an alumni group Crew4Life, where they continue their development as advocates and spokespeople.
Live4Life stands alongside batyr in calling for greater investment in youth mental health prevention programs, particularly in rural and regional communities where the suicide rate is more than 50 per cent higher than metropolitan areas, and where six out of 10 young people cannot access the services they need.
"We say mental ill-health doesn't discriminate, but for young people in regional and rural Australia it does," said batyr chief executive officer Patrick Darcy.
"Organisations like batyr work really hard to deliver preventative mental health education into these communities, equipping young people with the tools to help themselves and each other before crisis occurs. Having the Duke and Duchess of Sussex attend the workshop helps bring our integral work into the spotlight and ensure young people's voices are shaping the mental health system around them."