Youth Suicide Awareness addresses issues around the mental health of young people in a practical way by providing scholarships to professionals who work with at-risk young people.
Suitable candidates are awarded up to two years full or partial funding to complete a Certificate or Graduate Diploma in Adolescent Health at the University of Melbourne through the Centre for Adolescent Health (Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne).
This program was founded in 1996 and is a Community Service project managed by Brighton North Rotary Club.
Youth Suicide Awareness is now a multi Rotary Club project with twenty-seven Victorian clubs having provided full or partial scholarships since founding
History
Youth Suicide Awareness was established in 1996 as a response to an alarming increase in youth suicides and youth self-harm in Victoria.
The Rotary Club of Brighton North has provided twenty-nine scholarships since.
The Rotary Central Melbourne has provided eighteen Silk Miller Scholarships since 2000.
Twenty-seven Rotary Clubs from several Rotary Districts have provided financial support to more than eighty graduates.
In all some one hundred and thirty students have received support from Rotary.
Governance
Youth Suicide Awareness is governed by a Committee of Management from the Rotary Club of Brighton North.
| Chair | Phil Wheatley OAM |
| Secretary | Gerry Lambourne OAM |
| Rotary Club President: | Peter Killey |
| Immediate Past President: | John Blangiardo |
| Community Service Director: | Sue Jones |
| Members’ Representative: | Linn Maskell |
Silk Miller Scholarship
The Silk Miller Scholarship is a Community Service project of the Rotary Central Melbourne.
| Chair | Doug Roberston |
