Schools and sponsors are eager for Resilient Ararat to continue developing after the program showed its worth during a tumultuous first year.
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The Resilience Project promotes mental wellbeing in youth and the wider community through school curriculum and a range of activities and events.
Central Grampians LLEN acting chief executive Jane Moriarty said several of Ararat's schools had led the push to bring the project to the community.
"A group of local schools had been advocating for a number of years to get the Resilience Project to come to town, and to have a community project based around the implementation of the curriculum," she said.
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"They formed a committee and Central Grampians LLEN got on board as a managing partner to help run the project.
"Our role was to manage a project that reinforced the key messages from the curriculum into the wider community
Resilience Project facilitator Martin Heppell gave an introductory talk about the project at Ararat Town Hall in February 2020. The two seminars he presented were each attended by almost 500 people, with 10 schools in Ararat Rural City joining the project.
However, about a month later such gatherings would no longer be prohibited, as Australia entered lockdown.
Ms Moriarty said this meant the delivery of the project was significantly altered.
"With the restrictions that were in place a lot of our project activities were based online or were contactless," she said.
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"We ran a lot of different activities like 'Kindness in the Mail' where we got young to write letters to the elderly that were in the EGHS facility.
"We did a challenge to fill window space up with rainbows to send a message of hope and positivity.
"We did a coffee cup campaign for mental health month and a wellbeing webinar series for the community as well. So, we tried to target different ages and use different types of media."
Ms Moriarty said during 2020 the project had proved invaluable despite being restricted by COVID-19.
"We had really positive feedback last year," she said.
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"It was quite timely that the project started just before the pandemic and we were able to offer those types of things to the community as people were spending a lot of time at home.
"The schools have all embraced it really well."
To aid the project's development the Ararat School's Resilience Network was formed.
The network includes one representative from each school who shares what has worked with the implementation of the curriculum and how they have expanded it to the school's community.
While COVID-19 will still place some limitations on Resilient Ararat's program, Ms Moriarty said it would still be able to expand its offerings in the coming months.
"We're looking at doing some youth mental health first aid training. That will be for school staff, but if there are paces then they'll be opened up to the wider community," she said.
"We also have an artwork project that will be reflecting the curriculum, focusing on showing gratitude to the wider community through art the students develop with a mentoring artist.
"We have some social media campaigns as well and a few smaller activities."
Ararat Community Enterprise, Mellow in the Yellow, and Grampians Pyrenees Primary Care Partnership are Resilient Ararat's major sponsors for 2021.
Ararat Community Enterprise chairperson Max Perovich said the group was pleased to be able to support the project.
"This year will see the continuation of support from ACE as we feel that it is such an amazing community initiative that serves every sector of the community," he said.
"Moving forward, this year will provide a great opportunity for the Resilience Ararat Project to continue to shine and build on the strength of the great programs it offers."
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