Karratha Senior High School students create self-care tool kits empowering them to discuss mental health

Several students from Karratha Senior High School recently participated in a workshop empowering them to express themselves and start discussions about important aspects of mental health. Founded by Perth-based social enterprise Art is Alive, the Youth with HeART project aimed to raise mental health awareness and suicide prevention in regional WA. The year nine students created their own symbolic self-care tool kit by painting on rocks which represented self-care strategies that worked for them. Art is Alive youth worker Sarah Wray said it was important to develop a self-care routine. “It’s all about taking responsibility for our own mental health and it’s preventative as well,” she said. “Our approach to mental health as a society is generally more about crisis intervention and less about general prevention and well-being. “Self-care can help us become more resilient people so when we are faced with something, we’re more equipped to sail through it.” Youth with HeART began in October 2020 and has since travelled to six different regions within WA.