Talia Seymour admits she was surprised when she learned more males die by suicide than in motor vehicle accidents.
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The Wodonga Senior Secondary College student said she now had a more thorough understanding of the extent of suicide in Australia after working on a special winter solstice project this term.
Students in the VCAL personal development unit have chosen to support the 2019 Albury-Wodonga Winter Solstice event on June 21 with a fundraising and awareness campaign to engage young people in the conversation about mental health and wellbeing.
The class has worked together to organise and promote a movie night at Albury's Regent Cinemas on Thursday, June 13 at 7pm with Murray United Football Club the ambassadors for the evening.
"I believe mental health is even more important than your physical health because if you don't have a healthy mind, you do not have a healthy person," said Talia, 16.
Dylan Lewis, 17, said it felt good to help with an issue that affected the whole community and fellow classmate Ben Coulston, 17, said supporting a local event was particularly meaningful.
VCAL co-ordinator Jess Kellahan said the schol was the perfect setting to start important conversations about mental health and suicide prevention.
"Wodonga Senior Secondary College, together with the Wodonga Middle Years campuses, is the biggest public school in the region with more than 2000 students," she said.
"We know by the statistics that there are more than 3000 deaths by suicide each year and that 85 per cent of Australians will have suicide touch their lives in some way - whether that be through family, friends or a sporting club.
"It's fantastic for the students to be part of a local event that aims to bring the subject of suicide and mental health into the public forum to be addressed without shame or stigma."
MUFC players Tom Youngs and Alex West visited the class on Monday and explained the club was a big supporter of mental health initiatives particularly considering six in eight suicide deaths are males.
The club, which takes part in the Albury-Wodonga Football Association mental health round each year, prides itself on looking after individuals in the team.
MUFC players and coaches will speak at the movie night fundraiser.
- Tickets to see Men in Black are $15 (from Wodonga Senior Secondary College campuses).
- If you or someone you know needs help: Call Lifeline 13 11 14
