Friends, the life of those who minister to young people is often a full one. This means that we can easily become so distracted with everything that's going on, that we miss the chance to learn something new, even when it might just be something that is essential to our ministry.
Today, I want to urge you to take some time, or find some time, to learn about Mental Health First Aid. Three years ago I attended a course on this, and am now due for a refresher. Because I did this, I became more aware of the life struggle for many teenagers in our communities. Some of these teenagers are in your youth group.
So here are some resources that will be helpful to you.
First, this page has a number of guides you can download. I particularly encourage you to read the ones on Depression and Suicide. Why would I do this? Because these issues have come up in the PYV camps over the last three years and we want our leaders to be better prepared.
If you are coming to West Camp this weekend, I'll have some copies of these sheets for you to read through. (For those not coming to camp this weekend, please be praying for those who are.)
The second resource links to this and is a podcast. This discussion between Aaron Garth and Dr Claire Kelly deals with the issue of non-suicidal self injury. If you're a person who would rather listen to something than read it, then this will be worth your time.
The third resource also features Aaron Garth. PYV hosted a training event with Aaron in 2017 on the issue of Mental Health first aid. It was a good event to be a part of, and I'd encourage you to listen to this at some time.
https://www.pyv.org.au/training/pyv-training-events-recordings (scroll to "Topic: Mental Health First Aid" about halfway down the page.)
Aaron is deeply interested in supporting and training youth workers to be better helpers for youth. Have a look at the Ultimate Youth Worker site for further information - https://ultimateyouthworker.com.au/
If you sign up for the newsletter, you won't be bombarded with weekly emails. Just the occasional encouragement.
Friends, I offer these links to you as something that might be of help to you and to the people you minister to. If there is any other way I can support you, please let me know.
I'm praying for you and all that God will do through you.
Rev Brian Harvey
Youth Ministries Director
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