A lot of young people in WA are dealing with things that were never theirs to control.
Everything adds up fast when you’re a young person and trying to figure things out on your own, and that’s before you add family, school pressure, and a world that seems to change every time you scroll your newsfeed.
This year’s WA Mental Health Week theme is Taking control in the face of change, and we think this is exactly the conversation we all need to be having right now.
Taking control of your situation is working out what’s actually yours to carry, and what isn’t. You might feel like you have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, but the truth is… you don’t.
Anything that isn’t yours to carry, like finding safe housing, navigating services, or getting back into education when things fell apart, is where we come in. That’s the work our teams do every day across our accommodation support services, our schools and our emergency relief services.
We carry the heavy parts with young people, so they have room to focus on the parts they can shape for themselves.
The things that are yours are often smaller than you’d think, but they matter more than they look:
None of this makes the big stuff disappear, but it builds a bit of stability so you can move forward on your own two feet.
A lot of the young people we work with have had big decisions made for them for a long time. In our programs, we deliberately hand some of that back. Young people set their own goals, run their own check-ins, and help shape the spaces they live and learn in.
It might look small from the outside. But when you’ve felt powerless for a while, getting to choose, and seeing that your choice matters, is a big deal.
If you’re a parent, carer, teacher or youth worker, you can help too. You don’t have to have the answers. Try asking a young person what feels in their control right now, and what doesn’t. Listen without jumping in to fix it. Then help with the parts that aren’t theirs to carry.
We want every young person in WA to know two things.
First, you have more control than it sometimes feels like.
Second, you were never meant to handle everything on your own.
If you or someone you know needs support, reach out to our friendly team at intake@youthfutures.com.au or call (08) 9300 2677.
For 24/7 support, you can call Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (ages 5–25) or Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call 000.
