SCHOOL has not been the same for Jacob Osenaris and Millie Collins.
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Both have experienced losing a peer to suicide and the ritual of grappling to navigate their way back to classes, a tight schedule and forging ahead with a social life.
Jacob and Millie are speaking out as young ambassadors for the region in a bid to help all young people - to save lives - in what they say is a flawed system for youth mental health.
They have found many programs have the right intentions and great long-term aims, but fail to address the urgent mental health crisis facing this community in the wake of a scourge of youth suicide.
Jacob and Millie are calling on all levels of government to truly listen and invest in young people.
The pair, both actively involved in an array of youth advocacy bodies, said the answer must at least be two-fold: greater support for teachers; and a youth advocacy body, similar to how they see the Indigenous Voice to Parliament model in advising governments on issues impacting young people.
"Youth issues need young voices - it's usually all older people speaking on our behalf," Millie said.
"Even some people in their mid-20s are out of touch with what life is like for us, just like we don't know exactly what's going on in year eight anymore ... Then, whenever we're told to go, it feels there is not much availability for support. That is why the system is so flawed.
"We are a growing city and mental health services aren't expanding to keep up ... A lot of time you're put on hold - it's not enough."
The pair said waiting for support invalidates feelings - too often young people felt their concerns must not be that bad if they are to wait.
Greater resourcing in youth mental health bodies, such as Headspace, was one solution. They felt resourcing needed to be broader.
Jacob and Millie felt there needed to be more urgent, early preventative support structures.
Millie said mental health was not a "snap issue out of nowhere". Feelings without the right supports could compound.
They said the wait for support was everywhere and they recognised this was not solely a Ballarat problem.
In Ballarat, there is one Headspace serving the Central Highlands region, including towns like Ararat and Maryborough.
This is an issue Ballarat Community Health chief executive Sean Duffy highlighted in the re-opening of Headspace Ballarat, already bursting at the seams, in October last year.
There are waits for psychology.
There were often waits on overworked well-being teams at schools.
Jacob, who has been a student at state and private schools in Ballarat, said the struggles were ultimately the same across the region.
He said, particularly as a senior student, there was often the struggle in choosing to see a counsellor only to risk the stresses of falling behind in class.
This is why Jacob and Millie wanted more government investment in all teachers, because students would often want to turn to a teacher they could trust.
Both Jacob and Millie said the city-wide roll-out of Live4Life in high schools this term was vital but more support was needed and more often to keep supporting young people in the transition to finishing school and adulthood.
It was created in a regional town and is tailored to best fit each community.
The program is in the process of being rolled out to all Ballarat secondary schools, starting with year eight students, plus year 10 at Phoenix College, to reach all year eight and 10 students next year.
Live4Life comes to Ballarat on the back of strong community lobbying and fundraising.
City of Ballarat mayor Des Hudson, who is also Ballarat and District Suicide Awareness Network chairman, told The Courier last month Coronial reports of known young lives lost to suicide this year alone had been sobering but validating why such a program was needed to help change lives.
"Live4Life can build a sense of hope in that peer age, get them engaging in difficult conversations and to know getting help is OK," Cr Hudson said.
Jacob and Millie said this was a fantastic long-term solution but they were impatient for urgent change, especially for senior students.
They encouraged young people to speak up but said young people must feel comfortable to speak with adults.
Millie said school was hard because most young people did not know how to deal with their grief.
Their advice for young people of all ages was to take care of yourself - know when you were not OK and that it was always OK to speak up and feel heard.
If you or someone you know is in need of crisis support, Lifeline 13 11 14.
Help is also available, but not limited, via the following organisations.
The key message is you are not alone.
headspace Ballarat (for 12-25s and parent support): 5304 4777
Stand By (Ballarat support after suicide): 1300 727 247
Ballarat Community Health: 5338 4500 and Head to Help: 1800 595 212 (a free service to connect people to supports in the region)
Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800
Have you tried The Courier's app? It can be downloaded here.
