TICKET sales for a community-wide mental health program have skyrocketed days before its first session.
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Sales for the first Resilience Project session on Monday evening jumped after organisers began advertising, with a total tickets 440 sold of 500.
Organisers Central Grampians LLEN will host the first session, which is open to parents, educators and other members of the community.
"Since we've advertised more widely this last week we've seen another 100 tickets sold, and before that we saw a steady uptake from parents," CGLLEN youth project officer Jane Moriarty said.
"We've also got a staff session that's got just under 250 people attending.
"It was originally aimed at teachers but we've since opened it up to people that work in the youth space. We're really excited that there has been so much interest."
Read more: How to help someone who is suicidal
The Resilience Project teaches strategies to build mental and emotional resilience and happiness, and covers various topics within that scope including gratitude and other tools.
The project is also being taught in schools across the shire, including Ararat College, Ararat 800, Ararat West, Ararat North, Moyston, Pomonal, Willaura, Maroona, Elmhurst, and Buangor primary schools.
The program will lead into a longer-term project the CGLLEN is calling Resilience Ararat, which will expand on Resilience Project principles.
"The project will be ongoing once the Resilience Project has come and done their session," Ms Moriarty said.
"The project will ... (focus on) community engagement (using) the messaging from the Resilience Project.
"It's in its early stages but there will be different activities and events offered over the next few years."
A broad range of groups will be targeted for the project, including local businesses and sporting clubs, especially as in smaller towns sporting clubs "have an influence on our youth" as much as teachers do, Ms Moriarty said.
"I think engaging sporting clubs really captures a lot of the community - you get parents, teachers, a lot of volunteers and a lot of people that have an influence on our youth in a more casual way than teachers would ... especially in rural towns where the impact of sporting clubs is quit wide - they are often a hub for the community," she said.
The Resilience Project has previously been rolled out in Stawell during 2018 and St Arnaud before that.
In Ararat the program was officially launched by the CGLLEN at its Laby Street premises last December to a mix of community representatives and educators.
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