‘Raise’ – Raising the bar and supporting our young people

Narrabri High School celebrated the graduation of five students from the Raise mentoring program on Tuesday, October 18.

The program, delivered in the school, is run by a qualified Raise Program counsellor, with volunteer mentors from the community spending time with students, listening, supporting and guiding them through the various challenges they may be facing.

Raise program counsellor Ms Jessica Barraket said the graduation day speeches were a testament to the success of the program, with one mentee stating, “this program has honestly changed my life, I am a much more confident person now, thanks to my mentor.”

Ms Barraket acknowledged the support of the school and the local volunteers. “I feel blessed to be a part of the Raise program,” she said.

“The positive impact it has on our mentees and mentors is truly wonderful to see.

“We do, however, desperately need volunteers, so if you would like to become a Raise mentor and join our amazing team next year, please contact us and let us know.”

Raise Foundation PR manager Ms Emmeline Stevens added: “Raise has been running best practice, early intervention mentoring programs at Narrabri High School for the past seven years and at Wee Waa High School for the past five years.

“During that time, the Raise program has supported over 150 young people from these schools.”

“COVID certainly proved challenging over the past couple of years, perhaps nowhere more so than in rural NSW.

“However, we returned this year with five mentoring matches for Narrabri and a youth-initiated program to help students in Wee Waa.

“Ideally, Raise hopes to support a full program of 15 students at each school in 2023.

“This means we are seeking 15 volunteer mentors for each school, so ideally, 30 young people can be a part of the program in 2023.

“Anyone interested in mentoring can find out more on our website.

“Once registered, Raise completes checks and training so that by the start of the program the following year, volunteers feel very well equipped to mentor in our program.”

Early ‘upstream’ intervention with a mentor makes all the difference in the life of a young person.

Since 2008 Raise has delivered 867 early intervention youth wellbeing programs right across Australia.

Recruiting, screening and training more than 7200 volunteers to become youth mentors, these everyday people, members of their local community, show up week after week as an independent, caring and trusted mentor supporting more than 10,700 young people.

Each program is managed by qualified counsellors who oversee the smooth, safe and successful delivery of the programs.

It is difficult to remove the barriers and challenges that young people may experience throughout their adolescence and the rest of their lives.

We can, however, equip young people with the tools, skills and resources they need to support their mental health, social and emotional wellbeing and engagement with school.

Empowered to use these skills, teenagers are more able to navigate the complexity of adolescence and the challenges life may throw at them.

Raise is recruiting for new mentors for 2023 programs.

If you would like to contribute to the health and wellbeing of students in the Raise Program at Narrabri High School or Wee Waa High School, please visit www.raise.org.au.