Published on: 2 March 2017



Founder and CEO of zero2hero, Ashlee Harrison, was at Christ Church recently speaking to our Year 11 boys on how to effectively deal with mental health issues. The visit complements our Personal and Spiritual Development (PSD) program delivered to all boys from Years 7 to 10.

Ashlee included some challenging statistics in her presentation:

  1. 1 in 4 young people experience a mental health problem during adolescence
  2. 75% of all mental health conditions start before the age of 25
  3. Suicide is the leading cause of death in young Australian males between 15 to 24 years of age

The boys received practical advice around proactive mental health strategies and were encouraged to identify and explore their points of reference, or people they could access in and out of school to support with their mental health.

“As a school, we are keen to support the students’ journey around mental health and reiterate the important message of them taking proactive and positive steps to support their health and general wellbeing”, said Liam Casson, Director of The Wynne Centre for Boys’ Health and Wellbeing.

Having lost her step-father to suicide at age 20, Ashlee established zero2hero Inc., a WA-based charity dedicated to ensuring young person are educated and empowered to effectively deal with mental health issues. Recently recognised by the Australian Financial Review as one of Australia’s 100 Woman of Influence, Ashlee and her team of staff and volunteers reach over 80,000 young people in WA each year.