Guest speaker and mental health advocate Nic Newling toured the region sharing his personal experience with mental illness in a series of forums to schools and communities.

Mr Newling spoke at six different secondary schools and four local town meetings, reaching more than 800 people.

Mr Newling said he believed there was something powerful about learning through someone else’s experiences.

“Whether you get through to one person or 100 people, knowing you’ve made a difference to the lives of others is what it’s really all about,” he said.

The roadshow was supported by the Grampians Pyrenees Primary Care Partnership. The partnership works to achieve a healthy and empowered community across Ararat Rural City, Pyrenees and Northern Grampians councils.

Mental health is a key priority area for the partnership.

The organisation aims to educate and inform students, parents, teachers and the wider community on mental health issues, promoting better mental health and reducing stigma.

The Speaking of Mental Health Roadshow proved to be a huge success with largely positive feedback.

Students from Stawell Secondary College described the session as inspiring, powerful and deep while students from Marian College in Ararat said the session was helpful and empowering.

Grampians Pyrenees Primary Care Partnership’s health promotion officer Lauren Dempsey said she was thrilled with how the roadshow had been received.

“It’s great to raise awareness of mental illness and educate the community on such an important issue,” she said.

“From the feedback we received, most people said they were now more confident in starting a conversation with someone about mental illness”.