Australia Day award launches charity to next level

When 25-year-old Paris Jeffcoat won Northern Beaches Young Citizen of the Year in January this year, she had no idea it would launch her charity, One Eighty, into the next exciting phase and put her on the path to being a young leader in the world of youth mental health.

“I was surprised and humbled when I found out that my One Eighty co-founder Leanne Westlake had nominated me for the award,” Paris said from One Eighty headquarters this week. “We had both been working on the charity for a long time, so for this work to be recognised and celebrated by the community was really special.”

“Winning the award was a great honour, especially as I learnt more about the work of all the other incredible nominees.”

Paris encourages all Northern Beaches residents to consider someone in their community who deserves recognition for their work in the community and nominate them for the 2020 Australia Day Awards. Nominations are now open.

Shortly after the Awards ceremony on Australia Day 2019, Paris was addressing hundreds at the the Big Ideas Forum at Glen Street Theatre with social researcher Hugh Mackay, discussing social isolation and loneliness and its effects on mental health.

“One Eighty is youth mental health done differently. We’re approaching the issue from a young person’s perspective, which is really unique, and that allows us to best engage with the people we are trying to help.”

The One Eighty team’s dedicated and passionate young activists describe themselves as “a bunch of twenty-somethings looking out for our mates on the beaches.”

“This helps to ensure our vision and actions remain evidence-based, outcome-specific, relevant and accessible to local young people,” said Paris.

Winning the award has given One Eighty great exposure.

“This has helped us educate young people about our programs, as well as other mental health services in the area. With the help of this exposure, One Eighty has welcomed over 300 participants to over 100 Open Up sessions this year, and has funded school workshops for over 2000 high school students on the beaches,” remarks Paris.

Jump on our dedicated web page and nominate someone for the 2020 Australia Day ‘Citizen of the Year’, ‘Senior Citizen of the Year’, ‘Young Citizen of the Year’ and ‘Sportsperson of the Year’, or nominate the person or group who organised the Northern Beaches’ ‘Community Event of the Year’. You can also nominate someone for an ‘Outstanding Community Service Award’, a special annual expression of appreciation for voluntary service to the local community.

Nominations for the 2020 Australia Day Awards close midnight on Wednesday 6 November 2019.

Award winners will be announced on Thursday 23 January 2020 as part of our Australia Day celebrations.

The awards recognise outstanding contributions made by local residents and groups in the Northern Beaches. Award categories are:

To nominate someone who you believe is deserving of an Australia Day Award, complete the nomination form on Council’s website - where you can also read our Honour Roll of wonderful previous award winners!