When Wagga-born woman Ruby Riethmuller learnt that her friends had been silently struggling throughout their school years the powerhouse decided enough was enough.
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In 2021 Miss Riethmuller launched youth mental health organisation Womn-Kind in a bid to bridge the gap in support for mental health that she had become acutely aware of.
For the first time this week, she has been able to visit several Riverina schools as part of her Regional Roads Tour where she hosted workshops in which she addresses all things mental health related.
Miss Riethmuller said the idea for Womn-Kind was born after she became aware that many of her close high school friends had been struggling behind closed doors.
"It was born out of this assumption that as a teenager you often feel like the things you're going through, no one else is going through when in reality so many people are going through the same thing as you or similar," she said.
"For me, It was this realisation that a lot of my peers were struggling with things silently that other people were also struggling with and there was this shame around seeking help and getting advice."
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When she noticed there was no organisation to her knowledge providing a youth-led approach to getting her she decided to take it upon herself to create one.
It is the first time she has been able to bring her workshops to her home town in person.
"Having grown up in regional NSW the access to support is sometimes a lot more limited in these areas so something I'm really passionate about is bridging that gap in support and accessibility for people living outside metropolitan cities," she said.
"This is the first time we have done the Regional Roads Tour and I think it's really nice as it's Mental Health Month."
The organisation was originally focused on people who identified as female or gender diverse, but lately it has branched out and Miss Riethmuller said she has been working with a lot of young men as well.
"We have been talking to the boys and girls and we're always open to pivoting how we offer support," she said.
"Young men have said how much they need this as well as women."
Womn-Kind not only provides access to resources, tools, tips and advice virtually but also offers an array of in-person services.
Miss Riethmuller said she also wants to raise awareness around the need to engage in mental-promoting activities regardless of the presence or absence of a mental illness.
"We are meeting young people where they are at and informing them with tools, resources, advice and tips," she said.
"We are very much focused on prevention as well, so providing tools that might be able to help people to not get to a crisis point.
"We're also trying to make people feel more comfortable in their skin and encouraging them to speak to their peers, and teachers and believe in themselves."
If she could tell her teenage self one thing, it would be "you are enough as you are".
"The thing we say a lot at Womn-Kind is that you are enough as you are and that is the overarching message and something I wish I could have told my younger self is it doesn't matter what you enjoy doing on the weekend, what subjects you like or what you want to be when you're older, what colour your hair is or who your friends are, none of that matters as long as you are comfortable in your own skin," she said.
While she always had a passion for mental health, it wasn't until she learned of her friend's challenges that she decided to dedicate her life to creating change.
"I have always been passionate but I became more passionate about it after I left school and my friends became more open about the challenges they had experienced at school and a lot of them I was naive to despite us being really good friends," she said.
"I felt this sense of isolation among young people which is really ironic because we're such a connected generation but we are feeling really isolated.
"I generally believed I could give a voice to the young people who are having these struggles.
"I did it because I thought I may as well try."
People can download the Womn-Kind app on their phones or visit womn-kind.com.au.
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