Harsh Rathi, a shy 14-year-old in Year 9, produced the brochure as part of the Youth Frontiers program, a NSW Government-funded program which saw high school students assigned a mentor for a six-month period to assist them plan and implement a community based project. Naomi Brugger was one of the staff selected by Griffith City Council to take part in the program and she was matched up with Harsh.

“It was a pretty painstaking and time consuming process,” Harsh said. 

Harsh was one of 10 local students who had taken part in the program, receiving more than 30 hours of mentoring sessions while working on the brochure which had been distributed to every student at Griffith High School as well as being made available at community organisations across Griffith.

On Wednesday morning, Harsh will present his brochure alongside the other students from the program at Griffith Regional Theatre. The event will see mentors and families come together to see the end result of the program.

Choosing to make the project about health was an easy choice for a teenager who wanted to become a doctor.

“Mental health is a big issue,” Harsh said.

“It effects everybody, not just the person suffering from it, but their friends and family too.

“I like science and medicine and the money is good too.”

Harsh said the brochure was an easy way to spread information about the services offered in Griffith. Local service providers like Community Mental Health and Youth off the Streets were listed along with phone numbers and websites. There was also a list of national services like Headspace and Kids Helpline.

According to the brochure, one in four young people experienced mental health issues. 

The brochure will be available at Griffith City Library, Linking Communities Network and the office of Adrian Piccoli.

Dobija Print World kindly donated all printing services free of charge.