Minding the mental health of school kids

Today I met with Vanna Garrick, project manager education & families of beyondblue, an organisation dedicated to raising awareness about mental health and supporting Australians who live with depression and anxiety.

Vanna kindly shared with me information about beyondblue’s MindMatters and KidsMatter initiatives that focus on the mental health needs of young people and children in primary schools and early childhood educations services, respectively.

Children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing are among the important issues at the forefront of the work of my office.

Supporting the development of positive mental health and providing effective support when mental health problems first present should be one of our highest priorities, and programs such as these are important to support children and young people’s healthy development.

More information on MindMatters and KidsMatter programs is available from their respective websites, or go to www.beyondblue.org.au     

Colin Pettit
Commissioner for Children and Young People