Heidi Berry says the way you talk to young people at school about substances like drugs and alcohol really matters.
鈥淥ne in four young people in Australia struggle with their mental health, and around the same number experiment with alcohol or drugs during their teenage years,鈥 Heidi says, 鈥渟o it鈥檚 all about choosing your words, and your approach, carefully.鈥
A member of the Youth Advisory Board at the University of Sydney鈥檚 Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, Heidi says that for too long, the approach was either silence or scare campaigns.
鈥淓veryone meant well, but there was no language to truly reflect what students were going through,鈥 Heidi says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why the OurFutures programs听were created 鈥 with students, for 蝉迟耻诲别苍迟蝉.鈥
鈥淥urFutures is about education without fear tactics,鈥 explains Professor , the Director of Prevention Research, at The Matilda Centre. 鈥淲hat makes our approach different is that students see themselves in the program. The characters are their age, the language makes sense, and every lesson is grounded in evidence.鈥
The OurFutures model was conceived by Professor Newton with the Matilda Centre鈥檚 Director, Professor 鈥 building on more than 20 years of research and co-design with students and teachers.
The series of online modules delivered in high schools feature cartoon storylines with relatable characters to share information about alcohol, drugs and mental health. Students can also engage in activities with their teachers, such as role-playing real-life scenarios and class discussions.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not just delivering information; it鈥檚 giving students the tools they need to make better decisions,鈥 Nicola says.
Clinical trials have found the OurFutures programs are more effective in preventing the use of alcohol, cannabis, MDMA, vaping, and improving mental health, than standard health education programs. It has also been proven to have long-lasting benefits 鈥 reducing risky drinking and related harms well into adulthood.
鈥淚t's been trialled in 290 schools with over 26,000 students showing reductions in alcohol, cannabis, MDMA use and vaping, so it works,鈥 Nicola says.
鈥淏y getting in early and preventing these problems from developing, we can change the life trajectories of our young people.鈥
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For young advisors like Heidi Berry and Thomas Wedding, being part of the Matilda Centre Youth Advisory Board (YAB) means having a real voice.
The YAB is made up of a diverse group of young Australians, aged 16 to 25, from across Australia, who contribute their expertise to guide youth programs and mental health research.
鈥淲e use our lived experience to shape programs like OurFutures,鈥 Thomas says, 鈥渇rom the structure of education modules to the exact wording used. We鈥檙e brought in from the start and are able to influence the tone, the key insights, the way it all comes together.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not about saying 鈥榙on鈥檛 do drugs鈥, it鈥檚 about giving young people the knowledge to stay safe. Everyone will make their own choices; we just want them to be informed when they do.鈥
OurFutures is continually evolving. A new module on vaping 鈥 highly addictive and popular with teens right now 鈥 has shown powerful results. Students who completed the module were found to have increased knowledge about vaping and were听65 percent less likely to vape听than their peers in a control group.
Four out of five students who completed the program felt the skills and information they learnt would help them in the future and 90 percent of teachers said the program was easy to implement in their classrooms.
The program has been hailed as one of the most successful school-based strategies in the world for curbing youth e-cigarette use in a study published by the听
鈥淲ith support from the Paul Ramsey Foundation, we have now established the听听Nicola says, 鈥渁 joint venture not-for-profit spin-out company with the University of Sydney, to drive large-scale implementation of these effective programs in schools.
鈥淥ur goal is to reach all Australian high schools by 2030,鈥 she says.
It鈥檚 not just delivering information; it鈥檚 giving students the tools they need to make better decisions.
Heidi knows what it鈥檚 like to grow up in a regional area with limited support.
鈥淭he best education didn鈥檛 always reach the people who needed it,鈥 Heidi says. 鈥淲hen we talk about accessibility, it鈥檚 not just a nice-to-have. It鈥檚 the difference between someone getting help or not even knowing it鈥檚 there.鈥
鈥淎ccessibility means plain language. It means visuals and online resources, not just handouts. It means co-designing programs with everyone in mind.
鈥淓very young person deserves the chance to make informed choices.鈥 Heidi says. 鈥淏ut first, they need to understand what those choices are.鈥
Header photo credit:听Alan Richardson