A Youth Summit hosted by Council’s Youth and Family Services has explored resilience in local youth following two years of a global pandemic.
The event saw 120 students from six local secondary schools gather at the Springvale Town Hall in July. With the theme Conquering 2022 and Beyond, the summit supported students to bounce back from the challenges of COVID-19 through building resilience, health and wellbeing. Highlights included:
- keynote speaker Mike Rolls, who shared his experience as a meningococcal survivor, encouraging students to maintain a positive mindset, handle setbacks and embrace challenges
- a Supporting Your Peers workshop run with Headspace Dandenong, built young peoples’ capacity to detect and respond to warning signs of mental health concerns
- engaging workshops including African drumming, art therapy and hip-hop dancing.
The Summit included consultation activities to capture the voices of students and gain insight into the needs and issues impacting young people in our community.
The top three issues of concern to emerge were:
- mental health (anxiety, depression and body image)
- stress (managing expectations and responsibilities)
- physical health (sleep, nutrition and exercise).
The students’ feedback will be used to plan programs and future support services.
Visit the Youth and Family Services website to find out more about their programs and services.