Greater Charitable Foundation has launched a two-year partnership with preventative mental health organisation, batyr.

The $220,000 partnership aims to improve the mental health and well-being of young people in tertiary education through the batyr@uni program at the University of Newcastle.

batyr@uni aims to equip the respective communities with the education, mental health literacy and skills to create stigma-free and supportive environments.

A study undertaken by Orygen’s National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health highlighted that at least one in four of Australia’s 1.4 million university students will experience mental ill-health in any one year.

It showed that a range of factors around health and well-being, as well as lifestyle pressure, combine to create or exacerbate students’ mental ill-health.

Dr Hannah Brown, the batyr Program Coordinator for the University of Newcastle, said that batyr@uni aims to build a supportive community around mental health by taking a holistic approach to stigma reduction and improving help-seeking behaviour.

“batyr@uni educates and empowers students through our mental health and well-being initiatives and increases their knowledge of the diverse avenues of support available to them in the university community,” Hannah said.

“Through sharing lived experience stories and peer-to-peer education, batyr is keeping young people from reaching the point of crisis and changing lives.

“We want to make sure young people know they can get help and support to deal with the issues they are facing before those critical moments.

“No matter what you’re going through, help is available.”

Greater Charitable Foundation Chief Executive Officer, Anne Long said the mental health of young Australians is a serious societal issue.

“The prevalence of mental health disorders among young Australians remains a significant issue that needs greater attention and support,” Anne said.

“The batyr program prioritises improving the mental health of students, which is an area of real concern, so we are pleased to be helping them deliver their batyr@uni program for the next two years.”

Senior Manager, Counselling and Psychological Services at the University of Newcastle, Dr Jacqueline Olley said the batyr@uni program aims to bridge the gap between students with mental health issues and the services they need.

“Continuing the batyr@UoN partnership for two years will further support students in feeling comfortable talking about their mental health and seeking support when they need it,” Jacqueline said.

“We provide a range of student wellbeing services at the University, and through our partnership with batyr, we are empowering students to become more aware of these services and to seek out our support.”

batyr is one of four new partnerships recently announced by the Greater Charitable Foundation, that will collectively receive more than $800,000.

This takes the Foundation’s overall contribution to more than $13 million since its establishment in 2011.