Live 4 Life to roll out in Ballarat week after state youth suicide report

Mount Clear College will be the first of eight Ballarat secondary colleges to start the evidence-based Live 4 Life program, a mental health education and youth suicide prevention model designed specifically for regional communities.

The program will focus on year eight students at all participating schools, with years eight and 10 at Phoenix College, and roll out to all year eight and 10 students at all Ballarat secondary schools next year.

This comes as a Victorian coroners' report released on Monday found 13 Victorian lives, aged 13 to 17, had been lost to suicide in the first three months of the year.

The total number of deaths by suicide in Victoria for three months to April was the highest number of lives lost in the past five years - of these lives, 38 per cent were regional Victorians.

City of Ballarat mayor Des Hudson, who is also Ballarat and District Suicide Awareness Network chairman, said the coroners' court report was both concerning but also validated what the community was setting out to change with Live 4 Life.

"You look at the numbers in the statistics and these are numbers of human lives - young people made that choice to end their lives by suicide," Cr Hudson said. "Live 4 Life can build a sense of hope in that peer age, get them engaging in difficult conversations and to know getting help is okay."

State Coroner Judge John Cain, speaking on ABC radio, said the court was monitoring the extra pressures stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic across all ages groups and the impacts these might, or might not, have.

Cr Hudson said his discussions with school principals - long-term educators - reinforced ripple effects from the pandemic were likely to last years on young people.

"This is a long-term fix," Cr Hudson said. "We need to keep working and walking alongside our young people and make sure the right resources are available for our young people to ensure they are alert, responsive and know how to best guide people to the right supports."

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While suicide is the biggest killer of young people, the Coroners' report found the biggest age group impacted by lives lost to suicide was men aged 45-54. Judge Cain said this was typically a hard age demographic to tackle and, while each case was different, isolation and a lack of access to support services were often key factors.

Coronial investigations for deaths in this report were still in early stages. The complex nature of suicide can also make for inconclusive findings.

Cr Hudson said Live 4 Life aimed to give young people tools to carry for years.

The program rolls out in Ballarat in the collaborative efforts of City of Ballarat, schools and health services and has been largely driven by fundraising, such as the Friends of India Network, in response to rising mental health concerns for young people. Ballarat has experienced a scourge in young lives lost to suicide in the past two years.

Live 4 Life chief executive officer Bernard Galbally said it was great to see the Ballarat community pulling together and investing in such an important issue.

"This not only delivers evidence-based suicide prevention to young people in schools, but also adults in young people's lives," Mr Galbally said.

"We need the whole community with the same language and understanding, such as the difference between what is a good day and a bad day, and the difference between a bad day and an emerging mental health issue."

If you or someone you know is in need of crisis support, call Lifeline 13 11 14.

Help for young people is also available, but not limited to:

Headspace Ballarat (for 12-25s and parents): 5304 4777.

Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800.

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