Recommended sites

TakingITGlobal: “While people of all ages should maintain good health, young people face special challenges as they transition from childhood to adulthood. With the onset of puberty, the body changes to accommodate physical and emotional growth, but it also marks one of the most vulnerable stages in a young person's life. During this time, females tend to struggle more than males with body image and self-esteem issues which can lead to dangerous eating disorders and even death. On the other hand substance abuse, depression, self-mutilation and suicide have higher incident rates in males than females and if left untreated these health concerns may lead to permanent mental and physical damage.”

Child and Youth Health: “Your mental health is affected by everything and everyone you have contact with. That means everything in your life can have a positive or negative affect on your mental health or emotional well being... Mental health is a part of your life that can get sick and it is something that you can help to make healthy and keep healthy!”

United Nations Voices of Youth: “Harmful traditional practices such as child marriage also contribute to poor health among young people, including sexually transmitted infections and complications of pregnancy. When young girls become pregnant before they themselves grow up, both they and their children face an uphill battle to survive and achieve their optimum developmental potential.”

UN Cyber Schoolbus: “Global success in combating HIV/AIDS must be measured by its impact on our children and young people. Are they getting the information they need to protect themselves from HIV? Are girls being empowered to take charge of their sexuality? Are infants safe from the disease, and are children orphaned by AIDS being raised in loving supportive environments? These are the hard questions we need to be asking. These are the yardsticks for measuring our leaders. We cannot let another generation be devastated by AIDS.”

World Health Organisation: “The Millennium Development Goals - Goal 4: Reduce by two thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate.”

Oxfam Australia: “Every day, more than 8,500 people around the world die of AIDS-related illness. And too many of the 35 million people infected with HIV have only ever known hardship.”

Avert: “Sub-Saharan Africa is more heavily affected by HIV and AIDS than any other region of the world. An estimated 22.5 million people are living with HIV in the region - around two thirds of the global total. In 2009 around 1.3 million people died from AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa and 1.8 million people became infected with HIV. Since the beginning of the epidemic 14.8 million children have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS.”

Youthbeyondblue: “Depression and anxiety are among the most common mental health problems experienced by young people. Often, the symptoms aren’t recognised and therefore young people don’t get the help that’s needed. Sometimes, the signs can be ignored or passed over as ‘just part of growing up’.”

Youth Empowerment Against HIV/AIDS: “ ‘I realised that in my 13 years of schooling HIV has only come up now... after a class discussion where it became painfully obvious that the common idea amongst my friends was that HIV is only for ‘gay men and African babies’. I figured it's something that definitely needs to be addressed because that kind of ignorance can be dangerous.’ - Laura, 17 year old High School Student, NSW.”

Somazone: “So we all have bodies, what's the problem? We all are born beautiful babies, then after playing in sandpits and looking at clouds for awhile we start seeing advertisements on TV and in magazines and then crash-bang we think we are not beautiful anymore... Okay so here is the real picture... we are all normal... every human being is unique and special and different.”

Lawstuff: “The law says that you are not allowed to smoke in a car if there is a child in the car. A ‘child’ is anyone under the age of 18. This law is designed to protect people from passive smoking. This law applies to any person smoking in the car, not just the driver. It makes no difference whether the car is moving or stopped... You can send a question to LawMail and an answer can be sent to you in 6 days. ”

Reach Out: “Body weight is influenced by height, muscle mass, bone structure, and body fat, and so judging your body image by how much you weigh may be unsafe.”

Headroom: “The pressures from the community can affect how you feel about yourself. If you feel you can't meet up to the expectations of the community then you may feel degraded or even rejected by your community. It's hard to feel welcome in the community if you don't feel a part of it. It might be hard to feel like you're doing the right thing or that you're being watched and judged on what you do.”

Water Aid Australia: “Clean water is essential for life, but one in eight of the world's population does not have access to it. This, and lack of safe sanitation, result in over two million people dying from water-related diseases every year.”

Global Youth Network: “More people are abusing drugs today than in any other time in history, and many of those people are youth.”

These sites have ideas on how to make a difference.

Youth Empowerment Against HIV/AIDS: "Red Aware is uniting young Australians to Think, Talk and Act Red to raise awareness about HIV, AIDS and Sexual Health. Declare you’re Red Aware and join the campaign."

TakingITGlobal: "Youth can be active partners in decreasing the rate of child mortality. UNICEF, for example, has created partnerships with youth groups to construct and maintain water and sanitation services in some countries. Some youth, without any specific affiliations, take it upon themselves to lead site clean-up efforts in their communities..."

Act Now: "You could help an organisation which provides information support and services to users of illicit drugs, as well as their family and friends."

Organisations

Local organisations supporting youth

• Linkzone provides links to youth services, including health services, around Tasmania.
• Youth Network of Tasmania is the peak body for the non-government youth sector in Tasmania.
• Department of Health and Human Services (Tas)
• Family Planning Tasmania for sexual health advice, checkups and education.
• Australian Drug Information Network comprehensive information and weblinks for young people.
• headspace Northern Tasmania National Youth Mental Health Foundation.
• Federal government’s youth portal.

School Groups

Get your school involved with these sites!

• World Health Day, 7 April
• World Mental Health Day, 10 October
• World AIDS Day, 21 December
• HIV/AIDS and Human Rights: "Young People in Action Kit"
• Unite for Children, Unite Against AIDS
• Shades 4 AIDS Day
• World Toilet Day
• R U OK? Day