I'm a young person living in country Victoria
When you're young it can be a time of great change. You take on new roles and responsibilities, renegotiate relationships with adults, peers, and the community, and may experiment with new and seemingly exciting things.
Growing up in the country is great! Whether you were born here or have just moved out of the city, there is always plenty of fresh air and sunshine with room to move. It does however offer certain challenges too - especially for young people. Sometimes it can feel like everybody knows your business. Whether it's your mums best friend who works at the local chemist or your cousins, uncles, brother that is the only GP in town, it can be difficult to keep your private life private.
There are also challenges associated with getting access to facilities and services locally that are readily available to young people in the city. Sometimes there is nothing available in your area or what is available is limited in options. This is where the net can be a really valuable tool. You can find information on just about everything online. You do have to be careful though as not everything online is reliable. We have made great efforts to provide correct information on our site but if you have a question about anything or if there is something we haven't covered we are happy to talk about it by phone, email or in person.
For some people, being young is all about taking risks and learning from them. While risk-taking can be a positive tool in your life for discovering, developing, and consolidating your identity, it can also put your health and wellbeing in jeopardy. Research suggests that young people who participate in multiple risk-taking behaviours increase the chance of damaging their health.
The following pages offer you ways to identify risks and also information on the best ways to manage risk so that what you do now won't have to effect your health in the future.