Our third and final week was a bittersweet time for me (Mary). As much as I have enjoyed my time in Australia, I am excited for all that waits for me back home. This week flew by, however, and it is crazy that my month abroad is already coming to a close. This week we had a whopping four agency visits. We visited Lighthouse, Reachout.com, VICSEG, and Beyond Blue; all of which were impressive in their strides and missions. Each agency had an array of initiatives targeted at helping youth.
First, I’ll talk a little bit about my opinions on the agencies that we visited. Lighthouse is an organization that creates a safe living community for youth struggling with various issues. Their holistic view of treatment and community was solid and I thought they had the best treatment plan that we have seen while in Australia.
Reachout.com provides information and resources to youth facing everyday problems as well as mental health concerns. They provide a safe and open online community where youth can go to get information about things such as “how to have sex for the first time” or talk to others facing similar issues. I liked that they are reaching youth in the best way, as much of our young people around the world access the internet.
VICSEG was our third visit and they focused on refugees and asylum seekers in Australia. This organization provides education classes to young people/adults that will prepare them for work and living in the Australian culture. We were lucky enough to sit in on a few of these classes and it was great. You can tell that the teachers are passionate and caring about their students. One of the most important things you can give someone to succeed is education, and that’s what VICSEG is doing. The entire visit really changed my views and (limited) knowledge on the refugee situation in the world.
Beyond Blue had a particularly awesome initiative: The Brain. Beyond Blue’s character, The Brain, is a zany character that is used to help normalize the everyday problems that youth face concerning mental health. Their tagline is “the brain can have a mind of it’s own,” which is at the end of all their funny commercials. The Brain has it’s own social media handles and has reached around 80% of Australian youth. I think the initiative is genius! My favorite commercial was this one. The brain initiative was a great way to reach youth in a way that they are familiar with and enjoy: social media. The Brain is also full of humor and is an unbiased character. You cannot go wrong with using a brain as a character because everybody has one. It seemed to be a very successful campaign and youth are still able to use the resource. Included in the campaign is a 10 question quizzes that loosely evaluates your mental wellbeing. Using this quiz, Beyond Blue can guide youth in the right direction to find appropriate resources.
Other than agency visits this week, I (Mary) have been chillin’. I took part in a good amount of retail therapy after finding some outlets by our apartments and visiting the Queen Victoria Market twice this week. It is safe to say that I am leaving Australia with a full mind, heart, and luggage. This was the first week that I felt adjusted and familiar with the city. But, as usual, once I get comfortable somewhere it is time to go! So back to America I come
I would also agree with Mary that yes its week three and as soon as I am adjusted to navigate the city and know where things are; it is now time to get ready to head back to The United States of America. Yikes, I have never seen a month go by this fast! This last week has been awesome. Visiting the last few agencies and seeing yet again the awesomeness of what Australia is doing for our youth has been such a breath of fresh air and a push within my passion to continue in this line of work. (Taja).
Lighthouse was such a great organization that was aiming to helping late adolescents and emerging adults ages 17-25 years old. They have created houses all around Victoria for these youth to live to build a sense of order and self in their lives. The most amazing part of this organization to be is that they are self-funded and was started 25 years in the founder’s home… Wow to me that shows dedication, commitment, and determination to help the lives of what I would call our future which is young people. I love how one of the theories behind the Lighthouse model was “Psychological Wellness Theory,” which proves that wellness can only be achieved through the combined presence of personal, relational, and collective wellbeing. One way that Lighthouse accomplishes this is by creating a sense of community around each home within Victoria.
Reachout.com was so interesting to me as well because I love when organizations do well at embracing the new technology era that we are in. Reachout.com was the 1st online mental health service started back in 1998. Their targeted goal is youth ages 14-25 years old in which they involve them in every aspect of their projects and research topics. This accomplishes the goal which is to speck with youth and not at them. One totally awesome fact about this organization which I believe needs to be shared with is the CEO of this company was the FIRST youth ambassador within reachout.com! Wow! That speaks volumes and I am pretty sure a sign to youth that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!!!
VICSEG was also a great organization and really helped me understand a lot more about the lives of refuges and the struggles they may face especially when they come to a new part of the world. This organization does an awesome job of being sure everyone’s culture is embraced and everyone also has a chance to expand their learning to create a better life for themselves and family.
The moment that connection met my heart was when I was touring their education and learning facility and I am across the homework room with Rosa Parks on the door with a quote. That was totally beautiful to see how my history is being taught in another country across the world. #SimplyAmazing
Last but not least, Beyond Blue was totally remarkable! Beyond Blue is an online resource that helps and supports young people with depression and anxiety. Two goal that Beyond Blue has to offer in which I think is very key are prevention & early intervention as well as reducing stigma & discrimination. Because I am so dedicated to the education system especially secondary level, the program that really inspired me was the Mind Matters program. Mind Matters was a resource that helped the school system leaders (teachers, principals, etc.) understand and help to improve the mental health and wellbeing of the student body. If the wellbeing of the students is properly addressed, then all other aspects that come along with secondary students can be worked out. One thing that the guest speaker of this organization stated that I found to be very profound is “Beyond Blue aims to help others understand that if you want to receive change within a system, we must look at the whole moving part.” As of now their action plans and resources are completely free to access which is so great for other places around the world to use to allow this movement to keep going.
Overall, this week has been awesome as well as mixed with so many feelings because I am excited to go back and share with others about the wonderful things Australia is doing within helping youth. I must admit that I am a bit curious if my conversations will push others in higher positions to have a deeper look and build off some strategies they are using. I know that my level of excitement and appreciation for all the organizations I have visited has definitely been very high and I am happy to get such a POSTIVE recharge to my passion. I have been able to add some things to my toolbox and for that I am grateful. So, USA here I come ready to create new energies and inspire others to do so as well. Ready, Set, Go!!
Mary & Taja (World Changers and Leaders)
