“YOUNG men and women lack so much confidence in themselves and if we can help to improve that, what a great world we will be creating,” HYPA Mount Gambier project officer Jo Menz said on the upcoming Butterfly Foundation visit.
“I am a big believer in everyone giving themselves a pat on the back sometimes and saying ‘I’m pretty great’.”
In charge of running domestic violence and healthy relationships programs for young people in the region, Ms Menz has now secured a visit from the Butterfly Foundation to further help the youth of the community gain self-confidence.
Three programs will be run in the Blue Lake city this May, including two free sessions for youth, parents and community members and one paid session for professionals in the field.
One of four places in South Australia to receive the programs this year, locals will be given necessary information to form healthy relationships with themselves and others as they discuss the latest information and research and develop action plans for schools to follow.
“A big part of being in a relationships is our self and being confident in who we are as a person,” Ms Menz said.
“That then will hopefully have a flow-on effect to building healthy and strong relationships and these programs the Butterfly Foundation will bring to Mount Gambier are that extra early intervention step.”
Currently working with young women through a range of programs, the committed community member said it was important for youth to work on their self-confidence in order to be happy
with who they are.
“I mainly work with young women in my role and have seen how much pressure they put on themselves to be like what they see in magazines, in the media and online,” Ms Menz said.
“The fact that one of these sessions is for primary school students is really exciting, they will help to create a culture of change for future students and develop an environment in their school that is building body confidence.”
Also noting the importance of teachers and parents learning how to help young people in these situations, Ms Menz said the other two sessions are well worth attending.
“Teachers see first-hand what is going on with young people in the classroom and if the kids are going to be the champions of youth the teachers need to be learning the right information to complement that,” she said.
“So often you hear people telling stories of how teachers supported them and with new research coming out all of the time it is great for them and professionals in the field to update their skills.”
Contact Ms Menz at JMenz@hypa.net.au for more information on the three sessions and how to become involved.
