The Situation

Nearly 45% of people will face a mental health issue in their lifetime, and this is the largest contributor to the burden of disease in Australia. School dropout leaves nearly 1/5 Australian children having not completed high school, even more so in rural and regional areas. Young people indicate discrimination, financial matters and drug use as major impacts on their wellbeing, and equipping people with resilience, healthy relationships and self-esteem skills early in life is vital for effective and healthy handling of life’s stressors. 

Youth in Australia have indicated financial and mental-related stressors as the most impactful on their wellbeing in the past year. With 45% of Australians experiencing a mental health issue in their lifetime, the evidence must be examined. In the past 10 years, nearly 1/5 Australians have not graduated from high school. The largest burden of disease for adolescents is from suicide and self-harm, physical activity is at its lowest point in years, and unemployment is high. Young people are not being equipped with the resilience, self-esteem and communication skills to appropriately prevent poor health outcomes before onset, something in which the Armed for Life Foundation aims to combat.

The Objectives

Contribute to the equipping of vulnerable and disadvantaged youth in Western Australia to empower, build self-esteem and confidence, and upskill with valuable life skills of resilience, providing hope and opportunity through:

1. Barber shop project- setting up a barber shop in high schools for training, equipping and providing school service.
2. Network with schools to create a support base with a high number of disengaged students in lower socio-economic schools
3. Community support network of presenters
4. Provide sessions to students on topics relevant to their current situation
5. Engagement and Community programs
6. School Sessions/Programs