ROdown Blog
YAs represent us on Suicide Prevention Inquiry
We got this really cool opportunity in April to submit and attend a roundtable hearing discussion for the House of Representatives Inquiry into Youth Suicide Prevention.
Inspire’s submission focused on the impact of suicide on young people and the role of Information, Communication, Technology can play in providing positive services to young people.
And it paid off! We were asked to bring 3-4 Reach Out Youth Ambassadors to represent us to the roundtable, which was held in Sydney CBD on Wednesday 30th June 2010.
Our very smart, very cool reps were Hayley, Mareka, Nicola and Jenna..Go girls!! And they did a fab job of representing you guys as well as us. We are very proud of them
In preparation for this Roundtable Hayley and Mareka initiated and ran an online consultation through ReachOut.com. This ReachOut “infobus” session was held on Thurs 17th June 7-9pm EST – and was the most popular and interactive session the ReachOut crew has ever seen. In two hours we received over 200 posts from 18 young people all over Australia.
The discussions centred on the talking points in the draft program for this hearing: help-seeking and service accessibility and effectiveness - how we can make it easier for young people to seek help for their mental health.
We also asked about the appropriateness of training for professionals and teachers working with young people and the role of peer support, ICT and intervention services. Last, we raised questions about the experience of cyber-bullying and what could be done to enhance online safety and build coping skills.
This week we will be putting up a video clip with the girls giving their feedback on the experience. So keep an eye out for it!
We would love to hear from those who didn’t get a chance to join the Infobus session or just generally have some thoughts around this issue.
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22 Comments
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ehon
over 1 year ago
Reply ReportHey Will,
Awesome feedback and definitely agree with you to an extent! :) If we look through the literature of volunteering, it is true that Invitation is an important step not just for guys but for girls as well.
I kind of disagree that guys are less likely to be proactive because I think that we actually do have quite a lot of guys who are proactive because otherwise, they would not have applied to be YAs. However, I think that there is also the issue of voices and collaboration and coming from an inclusive practices perspective, I think that disempowerment is a huge cause of high drop out especially amongst guys.
I think what we really need is to think about the voices that we want and need and how can we empower these voices. Also, in terms of collaboration, how are we taking into account the different voices, empowering the different voices and not just let the dominant ones take over. If you look at literacture, this has a lot to do with the culture, leadership and structure.
So, yeah, I think you raised a really good point on invitation, and perhaps, that's the first step in re-engaging young men again.
Cheryl - Inspire Crew
over 1 year ago
Reply ReportThanks Will - that's a great suggestion to encourage and prompt young guys to get involved!! Definitely will take this on board in the future!
NadineF
over 1 year ago
Reply Reporthmm Will...I think you just started your blog post with this comment :)
William H(Head High)
over 1 year ago
Reply ReportHi Cheryl,
Through my experience, I have a couple of ideas that might help in getting young men involved in these sorts of events.
Young men when dealing with this sorts of issues tend to be more reactive rather than proactive, if they are approach or sought out to represent or do something they will gladly do it, and do it well. However, they are a lot less likely to promote themselves or put forward themselves to do it, without being prompted to. Although i can't help on HOW to do that exactly, i believe that is they key.
As i know I myself are guilty of it and i know the other guy that was with us there that day, Matt, wouldn't have been able to come and talk if he wasn't asked to. But when he was asked he was happy to.
If you do think of any ways that might work, please let me know too! :) and if you do need any assistance from a young male if that might help get some more involved, id be more than happy to help.
Will
Cheryl - Inspire Crew
over 1 year ago
Reply ReportHey hey
Antria
over 1 year ago
Reply ReportHey guys,
Ehon I know where you are coming from and agree that it would be great to come up with ideas to engage young men. I think the reality is everyone is trying! This was also something which happened quite quickly and perhaps a lot of guys didn't get the chance to apply?
Will its awesome to see you online! I thought you guys did an amazing job and likewise, I was surprised at the positive response from the MP's. I stayed in for the second session and I felt they continued to value my voice even in the context of the professional forum which made me feel we really made an impact on them during the morning. I was really inspired by the fact that a lot of you guys came with personal stories to share as well :-).
Nadine, Denise has Wills details (which I passed on with his permission.
NadineF
over 1 year ago
Reply ReportHey William
William H(Head High)
over 1 year ago
Reply ReportThanks guys...
Yeah it was good to be honest with them and show them some people that actually LIVE with what was talked about... so they can FEEL not just hear what's really going on...
If u guys ever need any help or input for anything... more than happy to help... I think Mareka got my details for contact if you ever need it.
HailsB
over 1 year ago
Reply ReportWill!
NadineF
over 1 year ago
Reply ReportHi Will!
William H(Head High)
over 1 year ago
Reply ReportHi Guys, just found your sight.. love the post up... its Will here, from head high. :) and for those that don't know I was one of the guys representing Young Males, in addition to head high at the forum...
Just wanted to send out to you ladies that you did a great job in there and put forward a lot of really valid and good ideas. And i really think that we gave them a lot to think about, and surprisingly to me they seemed genuinely interested and took it on.
So fingers crossed we hear on some progress soon, and all the best. Also maybe we may cross paths again. :)
Will
Atari - Inspire Crew
over 1 year ago
Reply ReportTotes agree with all of the above and also acknowledge that we must find ways to ensure young men feel comfortable accessing and participating here at RO!
FYI the (draft) Hansard transcript from the afternoon (public) hearing is available for those who are interested in checking out what was discussed in more detail: http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/commrep/13187/toc_pdf/7749-1.pdf;fileType=application/pdf
NadineF
over 1 year ago
Reply ReportAgreed Ehon. Something along the lines of new, innovative ways to engage young men? What are some of the alternatives you think would work, what won't etc?
ehon
over 1 year ago
Reply ReportAntria, yeah absolutely - I love what you did by quoting men on the forum. :) I just think that it would be great if Inspire actually send some male voice, because it does look like Reach Out is becoming an all female site - its scary! It's great what you did but I think direct stories and comments from young men at the forum would have been a lot, a lot more powerful, insightful and better. I was just hoping that Inspire could have taken the initiative to send some young men, rather than having other organisations do their part at having male voice at the Inquiry. Probably something Inspire needs to work on - its scary how feminine Inspire's becoming.
Nadine, I think the question isn't how can we get some more young men taking part in things like the Infobus. You can't attract people to something they are not interested in. I think its clear that the forum on our website is just not the right youth engagement tool for men (and maybe some female too). If I don't like eating peas, whatever you do to it, it just wouldn't work. Why not find an alternative?
Nadine, what kind of post are you thinking of?
NadineF
over 1 year ago
Reply ReportI agree with you all on the guy thing. Any ideas on how we can get some more young men taking part in things like the infobus?
Antria
over 1 year ago
Reply ReportHey ehon,
I totally agree and we took this into consideration when we gave our feedback. For example, for the few young men who participated in the infobus, we looked at their comments and I took direct quotes from what they said and shared this at the forum. Also, you may be happy to know that nearly half of the young people who attended were young men - and if fact that young men who attended shared very powerful personal stories and really spoke to their experiences and opinions on the issue of youth suicide. In addition, in the second session (with professionals) which I was also able to sit in on, Inspire spoke about their research with young men and had a real emphasis on this issue.
Soooo...even though Inspire wasn't able to take any young men to the forum, there was an acknowledgement of the differing rates of suicide and a strong voice for young men.
ehon
over 1 year ago
Reply ReportIt's just a shame that we chose all girls when suicide amongst men is of higher prevalence - 2/3 (14-19 year olds) and 3/4 (20-24 year olds) of suicide are men. I know men are generally more apathetic but I think everyone (not just Inspire) needs to do something to increase male participation in MH conversations, especially in something so important.
Bella.
over 1 year ago
Reply ReportFantastic video, fantastic thing to get involved in... well done chickens!
NadineF
over 1 year ago
Reply ReportLooking forward to your blogs HailsB!
Liamay
over 1 year ago
Reply ReportGo Girls.. you are freaking amazing. Good work :)
HailsB
over 1 year ago
Reply ReportHi All
Atari - Inspire Crew
over 1 year ago
Reply ReportGreat video guys and well done Hayley, Mareka, Nicola and Jenna - youse guys did a superb job!
I participated in the afternoon session (representing Suicide Prevention Australia), and was really stoked to hear the ministers make reference to the points the young people raised during the morning discussion. The committee also asked us questions that explored some of the themes that emerged from that...So it really felt to me like they listened to what you guys had to say!
Looking forward to seeing how this progresses over the coming months.
Props also goes to everybody who jumped on the forums to provide their perspectives and ideas!
A