PCYC GRIT PROGRAM

Ms JODIE HARRISON (Charlestown) — The Police Citizens Youth Club has developed a ground breaking new youth mental health pilot program called GRIT. The program was devised by Justine Russell and Ann-Maree Gralton, who are based at Lake Macquarie PCYC. GRIT stands for Growth-mindset, Resilience, Intervention for Teenagers, and is aimed at supporting youth mental health in the Hunter and regional NSW. The GRIT program integrates specific mental resilience skills training with nutrition education and physical fitness. The GRIT program is being piloted amongst 12 to 18-year-olds in 2021 and has been co-designed with young people and youth mental health matter experts. One in four young Australians live with mental illness, one in three experiences moderate to high levels of psychological distress, and Young people are also less likely than others to access needed mental health services. For these reasons, initiatives like GRIT are so important. I would like to thank Justine and Ann-Maree for their work in developing this program.