Despite wild, wet and wintry weather, Wellington Shire Youth Council hosted its annual Upswing Mental Health Festival at the Port of Sale last Friday.
The festival drew hundreds of people with myriad activities, food, art and stalls.
There was food trucks, rock climbing, live music, and a youth services and activities expo, all of which were widely enjoyed, but the young makers market was definitely the crowd favourite.
Even with rain quashing original plans to have the festival outdoors along the Port of Sale, Wellington Shire Youth Council Mayor, 17-year-old Nicola Woolford said it was a great turnout.
“Upswing is an event that has been running for a long time now; every year we put it on in a different place, and we try and involve a lot of young people,” Nicola said.
“Especially young makers, which is why we’ve got the young makers market, to promote the fact that people are out there and doing things; they have their own businesses”.
“We’ve been planning this (Upswing) since the start of the year,” she said.
“A lot of the behind the scenes work happened through our lovely youth liaison coordinator, Meg [Capurso]; she works at council, so she and the team at council have been helping us with the big stuff, like closing the road and getting the area approved.
“We (the Youth Council) are essentially the creative drive behind it, so we decided who we wanted here, we emailed and called people, we found the right photographer, all the different young people we wanted, really just creating the vibe.
“The turnout this year is great – very happy.”.
For Wellington Shire Youth Councillor Bailey Tierney, Upswing provided an opportunity to explore future career paths, and services to support her.
“I have definitely looked into options like youth and youth mental health,” Bailey said.
“Upswing is about mental health and our five ways to wellbeing, so I have had a look at things I can do to help youth with their mental health and the acknowledgment that comes along with it, because there isn’t a lot of recognition for it, but it has really made me want to go into social work.
“Now I know the TAFE courses I can do to get into that.”
Whitelion Youth and Berry Street were among the services at the expo, educating youth and the older community about programs for young people in the out-of-home-care system and volunteering opportunities.
Helen Marr from Whitelion Youth coordinates, a mentoring program for young people in out-of-home care, attended Upswing to search for volunteers and promote the program to young people.
“We recruit and train the volunteers ourselves, and we match them with a young person, and they spend time with the young person and help the young person engage with the community,” Ms Marr said.
“There is quite a variety of experience among the volunteers; some people may be getting into the youth workspace or community services.
“We have people who used to be professional workers and have retired and now have more time to spend in the community.
“We also have people who have never really had that kind of engagement with young people but really want to get involved, as well as people with lived experience who really want to give back.
“Our programs cover all of Gippsland, so quite a lot of area to cover, and we are looking for mentors in all the different areas.”
For Ms Marr, the most-rewarding part of being in the Whitelion Youth program is seeing the relationships formed between the mentor and mentee.
“The program goes for 12 months, and when it is coming to the end of the 12 months, both volunteer mentor and young person talk about how much it has meant to them to have that person in their life, who’s a constant, who’s supportive, who’s non-judgemental and who’s always available to have a chat, that is definitely the best thing about my role,” Ms Marr said.
Information about becoming a volunteer can be found at the Whitelion Youth website or the Berry Street website.
Wellington Shire Council youth project officer, Sarah Cook, said this year’s youth council had voiced keen interest in various matters, the environment, LGBTIQ+ rights, music, the arts and mental health being the biggest focus.
“They are very keen on supporting mental health initiatives,” Ms Cook said.
“This event [Upswing] is all about the Wellington ways to wellbeing, so five simple things you can do to look after your mental health, and this is all about promoting those five actions and being mentally well.
“Seeing the young people come together and put something on – and seeing them in power like ‘this is them’ that has put this [Upswing] on and pulled it all together – is amazing.”
Hundreds of Upswing-goers filled their bellies with delicious food – ranging from a classic barbecue from Overcoming Obstacles, to arancini and Greek doughnuts from Little Balls food van and Mumbai street food from small planet cafe – while listening to live music from Wellington Shire’s most talented youth musicians.
Performances from Hannah van der Venter, Tobi Karys, Ella, Dane and Stella, Emily Jansen, Tayla Clavarino and Bella and Co wowed audiences as they congregated in the Wellington Centre underground car park, hoping to catch a glimpse of the next possible Mick Harrington.
Inside the Wellington Centre on level one, Upswing-goers found the Youth Council HQ, loaded with masses of information and goodies such as Upswing sticker passports and show bags.
The young makers market, table tennis, and the Wellington Youth Art Prize exhibit were up the soaring pine wooden stairs on level two.
Young local makers put on show their exceptional talents, with stall upon stall filled with eye-catching artwork, pottery, woodwork, scrunchies, hair ties, jewellery, key chains, candles, plant pots and macrame.
