Youth Yarns Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health First Aid

Secondary school students aged 12-17 years who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. Non-indigenous students may also attend at the discretion of the instructor and participating community.

The program’s de-centralised model means that Licensed Youth Yarns Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander MHFA Instructors have a vast range of expertise and local community knowledge that can create a tailored and inclusive experience for students. This is particularly important to ensure the Cultural Safety and Capability of the course, Instructors are well positioned to engage local Cultural Knowledge holders to be part of the training sharing Cultural Knowledge and access to Culturally safe activities delivered on ‘Country’.

Backfilling should be considered for supporting staff that attend the delivery of Youth Yarns Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander MHFA courses to students. It is likely that back filling will be required should the school train the recommended 10% of staff in Youth Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander MHFA training, and/or if staff complete the 4-day Youth Yarns Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander MHFA Instructor Training Course.

The Menu provider and its personnel must not be alone with any school student or group of school students in the classroom or in any other place at the school’s premises without another educator, teacher or teacher’s aide present at all times.

For Youth Yarns Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander MHFA courses delivered to the students, schools will need to consider their venue and technology requirements. Access to a physical training space/classroom, reliable internet, working computer or laptop, and projector will be required. For Instructor Training Courses, all relevant materials will be provided to the participant during the training week.

Preferred delivery of the Youth Yarns Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander MHFA training is 3 sessions of 2 hours. The full course must be delivered within 6 weeks of the first session, and optimally, within 3 weeks. Additional safety considerations apply for delivery of the modules. A minimum of 4 and maximum of 30 participants are required for the course to be delivered.

Youth Yarns Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander MHFA Instructor Training requires submission of an online application at least 4 weeks prior to training commencement, demonstrating how they meet the selection criteria. Successful applicants will then attend a 4-day face-to-face Instructor Training Course.

Mental Health First Aid Australia will support Youth Yarns Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander MHFA Instructors through provision of Communities of Practice, online newsletters, webinars and articles. Instructors have access to a team of specialists who provide one-on-one support to ensure Instructors confidently deliver high quality courses to communities and workplaces. Schools can also contact the Schools Engagement Team, and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander MHFA Program Team for support and advice regarding their short- and long-term training objectives.

This program has been developed and applied in Australia.

The cost of the Youth Yarns Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander MHFA course, delivered face-to-face over 6 hours by one licensed Youth Yarns instructor to 4–30 student participants and including all training materials is $2,745.60 (incl. GST). This includes:

• Session 1 (2 hours) – Introduction and Social and Emotional Wellbeing
• Session 2 (2 hours) – Mental Health Problems
• Session 3 (1.5 hours) – How to Support Your Friends
• Session 4 (30 minutes) – Personal Boundaries and Wellbeing.

This can be delivered as 3 x 2-hour sessions (preferred), one x 2-hour session and one x 4-hour session or one x 6-hour session.

The Youth Yarns course workbook incurs an additional cost of $29.74 (incl. GST) per item/participant plus postage and handling.

Certificates of completion incur an additional cost of $2.20 (incl. GST) per participant.

The cost of the Licensed Youth Yarns Instructor training is:

• Public 4-day Instructor Training Course (per person): $4,759.04 (incl. GST).
• Private 4-day Instructor Training Course (per person) with venue/catering provided by MHFA: $4,580.58 (incl. GST) for a minimum of 10 and maximum of 12 participants.
• Private 4-day Instructor Training Course (per person) without venue/catering provided by MHFA: $4,461.60 (incl. GST) for a minimum of 10 and maximum of 12 participants.
• Annual Instructor License Fee, required after 12 months; first year licence fee is included in the Instructor Training course fee (per person): $208.00 (incl. GST).

Youth Yarns Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander MHFA Instructor Training participants must be a current Youth Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander MHFA Licensed Instructor and have delivered 3 of these courses prior.

Youth Yarns Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander MHFA licence remains valid for an ongoing duration provided the following conditions are met:

• Instructors must pay an annual licence fee as specified above
• They must also:
  • sign an annual licence agreement
  • meet minimum course delivery requirements of 2 courses per year
  • maintain stringent quality standards and hold a valid Working with Children Check.