Afraa Kori
In an era where youth mental health is more crucial than ever, Werribee Rotary is leading the way with a seminar featuring AFLW player Kate McCarthy and psychologist Maria Ruberto.
Dedicated to girls, young women and parents, this annual event will be held at MacKillop College on Thursday September 12 from 6:30pm-8:30pm.
President of Werribee Rotary Club Robert Fava said the combination of sports and psychology expertise will make the seminar unique and attract nearly 200 people.
“The speakers we have this year will be a real highlight as they showcase both a great knowledge around mental health issues, but also show a personal story of overcoming hardship and developing resilience through lived experience,“ Mr Fava said.
“The speakers we have selected will bring a wide number of people from across the community to discuss mental health issues. We are hoping to build on the numbers that attended last year, we hope to get around 150 members of the community to attend.
“The event will be open to young girls and women across all ages from year 7 to year 12 and beyond.”
A key driving force behind the seminar is the ongoing concerns raised by MacKillop students.
“The seminar and the topics discussed will be very much based around the issues that young girls and women have told us they would like to discuss. We have sought the opinions of the girls on the topics they would like to discuss and these topics are very much a focus,” Mr Fava said.
“The event will be held in RYOK Week which is a week focused on looking out for others to see if they are okay. As such the timing is really important to raise awareness of important mental health issues for young people.”
The seminar aims to raise awareness on mental health, provide practical resolutions and access to support services.
“The focus of the seminar is all about practical knowledge and skills, for those attending the focus will be on what can I take away and incorporate into my life to support my mental health,” Mr Fava said.
“Students we hope will take away knowledge, inspiration, practical skills and strategies to support their mental health.
“One of the key things we would like to provide for attendees is a personal action plan for them to be able to use at times of stress.”
MacKillop’s student wellbeing director Andrew Exton said Werribee Rotary had partnered with MacKillop College to make a lasting impact in the community.
“We as a college are constantly looking for ways to connect with our community.We have previously worked with Werribee Rotary to highlight mental health challenges for young men, and we wanted to offer the same opportunities for our young girls. The issues experienced by young girls and women are unique and often not well understood by the girls themselves so we hope to educate, inform and inspire those in attendance.”
