"Do it! Do it! Do it!": headspace Melton's Youth Advocacy Group

headspace Melton's Youth Advocacy Group (otherwise known as the YAG), is a small group of young people who live in the city of Melton. We volunteer our time in hopes to make a difference in the mental health of young people living in our city. 

Recently, we have been trying to grow our numbers so that we can expand our work and hopefully reach more young people.

My peers and I at the Melton YAG asked one other a series of questions regarding our experiences joining and participating in the YAG. We began with how we heard about the YAG in the first place, as well as what drove us to apply. A common theme of word-of-mouth arose. 

“I first found out through a family friend who was part of the Melton YAG, so she was like come along. So I was like ‘bet’.” 

“I learnt about it through a friend who was part of [Melton YAG] before I was … they basically begged me to come.” 

“I found out through a good friend of mine who was volunteering down in Bendigo. It helped inspire me to reach out to headspace Melton and enquire.” 

“I was looking around for things to do in the community. And somebody came up to me… I don’t know if I should name-drop!”

“One of my friends was already volunteering at Melton headspace YAG and they said it’d be a good way to get my foot in on the mental health industry through volunteer work.”

We then asked one other what drove us to take the steps to apply once we learnt about the YAG. 

“As a person who has a future in youth work, I found it a great opportunity to network and have further developments in my skills.”

“I think I just really wanted to be part of the community. I found myself with a lot more free time than what I usually would have, and I wanted to fill that up with something meaningful.”

“Wanting to make a change in the community and for young people. And to hopefully build on this in the future to continue my path in mental health.”

“The easy answer is that I’m bored and wanted to do things with my life. The more complex answer is that I wanted to get a taste of what it’s like working in the community that I live in.”

“I was encouraged by a few people saying [the YAG is] a good way to actually make a change in my community with the issues I was talking to them about.”

The YAG focuses on community, advocacy and youth mental health. Members were asked what makes them passionate about these areas.

“To me these areas are very important. Young people today and even in the past have been very vulnerable and exposed to so many topics and content, and I think there needs to be more voices heard in the community.” 

“A lot of lived experience … Especially going through high school, there had been a lot of challenges when it comes to mental health and such, it has made me kind of passionate about what I can do to make it better for other people going through what I went through.

“Wanting to build a safe space for young people where they can come and explore and understand their mental health, as well as receiving the help that they need. It is really important to me.”

“As a young person who has gone through my fair share of mental health struggles, I feel like this is a topic well worth exploring … Like it or not, mental health will creep up on you because you’ve got a brain, and sometimes that brain will get sick.”

“In Melton, I’ve experienced and I have a lot of friends who’ve experienced a lot of ostracization and othering. I saw YAG as a way to make an active change in that. And so I applied and I have tried to have a voice, and it has worked, I think. 

Another key aspect of headspace’s Youth Advocacy Groups is the personal and professional development of each member. We were asked whether or not this influenced our decisions to join.

“When I first joined I didn’t realise it would give me opportunities to add stuff to my resume, which is pretty good. So far working at the YAG has helped me improve my communication skills, and how to perform in professional settings.”

“I started learning about professional development after I joined. I had mostly just heard about the YAG going into the community and helping out in some ways. Once I got here, I was thrown into all these unique opportunities that I wouldn’t have gotten to participate in otherwise."

“I guess it’s the opportunity that Melton YAG gives me to build on myself professionally, as well as in the community, and within the group of YAG members as we’re all friends. I’m getting to build on myself in every way.”

“Well it was a personal thing more than a professional thing. I just wanted to be more connected to the community, meet more people, share more ideas, and meet more young people like me.”

“It did influence me quite a bit because I’m doing a Bachelor of Psychology and to get into honours you need to have done volunteering experience. And it was really cool to find a thing that was very cool that I could volunteer for and see tangible differences.

To wrap it up, we were asked what we would say to a young person thinking about joining the Melton Youth Advocacy Group...

“Talking from personal experiences, just have a go at it. It can be a little bit uncomfortable, a bit scary, but putting yourself out there means a lot. The more you give, the more you get.” 

“Just give it a go. It’s a small amount of time out of your week at the end of a school day, or the end of a work day. You get this unique sense of community. I’d say just go for it, and see if you like it. It’s the only way you could know if it's for you.”

“Do it, do it, do it. You’re not gonna regret it. We have such an amazing community here within the YAG, and we go out into the community and help people. If you’re interested -- if you even have a hunch that you want to join us -- do it.”

“Give it a shot. Meet the people, if you like the people then chances are you’ll want to be around for more than one session so if you like the vibe, then dive right in.”

“I think you should definitely do it. Going to groups like this, it can be a bit nerve wracking. You can get into your head a lot about how other people might be … The person who throws out the weirdest, most out there idea is usually the person who gets the ball rolling and gets more creative ideas.”

So hey, if you’re between ages 18 - 25, living in the greater Melton region and have a passion for your community's mental health and wellbeing, please join us!

Change comes easier in numbers, and we are all keen to make that change in Melton.

Head here to express interest or learn more!