Teen and Youth Mental Health First Aid Training is a fundamental part of the Live4Life Program. The training will soon be delivered to even more youth in Benalla through funds donated to Benalla Rural City's Live4Life program by The Lockie Project.
Following the tragic loss of Lockie in 2018 and his sister Maddie in 2019, their family knew they couldn't sit in silence. Wanting to raise awareness and remove the stigma around suicide, they created The Lockie Project.
Courtney, Lockie and Maddie's older sister said:
"Lockie always said his name was going to be in lights one day, so we thought what better way to honour him, then to name the foundation accordingly," Courtney said.
"Our tag line You Belong Here is our love letter to both Lockie and Maddie. They do belong here, and we wish we could have helped them so they could be here with us today.
"You Belong Here is also a message we would like to spread to all young people in our future campaigns. We want them to know their life is precious, we want them to know we love and care for them and we want them to know we are here to fight for them when they can't see the precious things in life.
"As we navigate the prevention of suicide in young people communication is key, through The Lockie Project we want to promote conversation about suicide and deliver mental health first aid training to young people in Benalla," Courtney said.
In honour of Lockie and Maddie, $1000 was recently donated to Benalla Rural City's Live4Life program to deliver Youth and Teen Mental Health First Aid Training.
The money was raised through the sale of Lockie Easter eggs, selling out in just 48 hours.
"I'd like to thank the businesses involved in selling the Lockie Easter eggs; Benalla P-12 College, Brick by Brick, Gooroombat Hotel, Gooroombat Post Office, Lionheart, Spot for Icecream, Tomorrow Today Foundation and Yooralla," Courtney said.
Benalla Rural City Council Mayor Bernie Hearn said suicide is the leading cause of death for young Australians. The challenges young people face in school, on social media and in navigating adolescence can be overwhelming.
"Since launching in Benalla in 2017 Live4Life has assisted in training over 1200 young people in Teen Mental Health First Aid and 177 adults in Youth Mental Health First Aid," Cr Hearn said.
"We want to make sure all young people are given the opportunity to gain the skills they need to start a conversation with someone they might be worried about.
"I want to thank Courtney and her family for the awareness they are spreading in our community through The Lockie Project and for their very generous donation to Live4Life to continue this critical training for the youth of Benalla," Cr Hearn said.
Teen mental health first aid provides education and resources to young people to understand when they or someone in their lives is going through mental health problems or crisis and teaches the importance of reaching out for support.
To keep up to date on The Lockie Project follow 'Lockie' on Facebook.
The Live4Life Benalla Partnership is led by Benalla Rural City Council in conjunction with Benalla P-12 College, FCJ College Benalla, Flexible Learning Centre, Tomorrow Today Foundation, NETracksLLEN, Benalla Health, NECAMHS and NESAY.
If this article has raised concerns for you, or someone you know, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or in an emergency call 000. A number of services are available on the Headspace website headspace.org.au/emergency-assistance.
