Live4Life milestone celebration

Hepburn Shire Council’s (Council) partnership with Daylesford College, Central Highlands Rural Health (CHRH) and the team at Youth Live4Life has reached its six-month milestone on a youth mental health and suicide prevention program.  

Bradley Thomas, Hepburn Shire Council CEO, said he was proud to be partnering with Daylesford College and CHRH on the Youth Live4Life program which is tailored to regional communities.  

“The program is already having a positive impact on our young people, and we are seeing an increase in referrals. It is comforting to know that our young people are having more conversations about mental health and peer support,” said Mr Thomas. 

During a recent consultation with young people, 59 per cent indicated that mental health is an important issue in our community. Council made a commitment in the ACE Youth Strategy to focus on mental health and as part of this commitment Council has partnered with Daylesford College on the Live4Life program. 

“Council will continue to run two free youth mental health sessions per year for community members who are working with or supporting young people in Hepburn Shire,” said Mr Thomas. 

“It is greatly empowering for our young people to have a program like Live4Life which enables them to step up into local leadership positions. We are also looking forward to launching nominations for the Young Mayors Youth Council in 2025. We encourage anyone who is passionate about these types of issues impacting young people to chat with our youth team,” said Mr Thomas.  

Council will continue this partnership program into the future and looks forward to seeing some positive outcomes for the young people in our community.