THEIRS: The Backpacks We Carry: Rethinking Youth-Led Community Grassroots Suicide Prevention
Tracks
Monarch
| Friday, November 6, 2026 |
| 11:55 AM - 12:15 PM |
Overview
Laura Johnson OAM, Theirs
Three Key Learnings
1. Youth-Led Design Drives Engagement: Delegates will learn how giving young people real control, not just input and creates spaces that are safe, relevant, and genuinely impactful in suicide prevention.
2. Community Insight is Essential: They’ll understand the power of place-based, community-led approaches, and how listening to what communities truly need leads to meaningful, sustainable outcomes.
3. Connection Prevents Crisis: Delegates will see that suicide prevention is not just about responding to crisis. It’s about understanding the cumulative pressures people carry and trauma, building connection, and fostering support networks that keep people going before crisis occurs.
Presenter
Miss Laura Johnson OAM
Founder
Theirs
THEIRS: The Backpacks We Carry: Rethinking Youth-Led Community Grassroots Suicide Prevention
Presentation Overview
Before the Talk: Two people wear backpacks throughout the session. Items are added, some obvious, some subtle. both look the same and weigh the same.
Introduction – THEIRS:
Who we are, what we do, what we've done. We focus on early intervention, connection, and safe spaces for natural conversations, because connection is one of the strongest protective factors against suicide. Since our start, we’ve indirectly impacted 100,000 people through events, advocacy, and community-led initiatives.
Three Common Questions:
1. How do you engage young people so effectively?
We don’t fit young people into systems, we build with them. Spaces feel safe, relevant, and non-clinical. Most importantly, young people take real control, designing and leading initiatives. They aren’t just the future of this work, they are the now.
2. Why does community input matter?
Because communities know what they need. Place-based, community-led approaches are proven to work, especially in regional areas. Nearly 400 local “champions” guide our work. Events are created with communities, not for them and that’s where real impact happens.
3. How have we survived without funding?
Because people believe in grassroots, early-intervention work. Community support, volunteers, and partners have sustained us. But demand is growing, and our programs. From school initiatives to workforce training are ready to scale, with national interest emerging.
Wrap Up: The Backpack Moment from our training program:
Participants reveal backpacks filled with life’s pressures: school, family, work, finances. Unpacking them in front of everyone. One has heavy the other light. Ask a question to the group around support.
Final Message:
Suicide prevention isn’t just about crisis, it’s about the build-up of everything people hold. Meeting them where they are, acknowledging unseen burdens, and creating connection is where real prevention begins. Connection starts conversations, builds trust, and ensures no one has to carry things alone.
Introduction – THEIRS:
Who we are, what we do, what we've done. We focus on early intervention, connection, and safe spaces for natural conversations, because connection is one of the strongest protective factors against suicide. Since our start, we’ve indirectly impacted 100,000 people through events, advocacy, and community-led initiatives.
Three Common Questions:
1. How do you engage young people so effectively?
We don’t fit young people into systems, we build with them. Spaces feel safe, relevant, and non-clinical. Most importantly, young people take real control, designing and leading initiatives. They aren’t just the future of this work, they are the now.
2. Why does community input matter?
Because communities know what they need. Place-based, community-led approaches are proven to work, especially in regional areas. Nearly 400 local “champions” guide our work. Events are created with communities, not for them and that’s where real impact happens.
3. How have we survived without funding?
Because people believe in grassroots, early-intervention work. Community support, volunteers, and partners have sustained us. But demand is growing, and our programs. From school initiatives to workforce training are ready to scale, with national interest emerging.
Wrap Up: The Backpack Moment from our training program:
Participants reveal backpacks filled with life’s pressures: school, family, work, finances. Unpacking them in front of everyone. One has heavy the other light. Ask a question to the group around support.
Final Message:
Suicide prevention isn’t just about crisis, it’s about the build-up of everything people hold. Meeting them where they are, acknowledging unseen burdens, and creating connection is where real prevention begins. Connection starts conversations, builds trust, and ensures no one has to carry things alone.
Biography
Laura Johnson OAM, from Smithton/Somerset Tasmania, is a youth lived-experience advocate in mental health and suicide prevention. After navigating her own mental health journey, she founded THEIRS (Talk, Hear & Help, Educate, Inform, Refer and Support), a community-led organisation addressing gaps through events reaching over 100,000 people. Laura’s work spans leadership, policy, education, and public speaking, including parliamentary addresses and national forums. She sits on boards and committees including Mental Health Family and Friends and the Tasmanian Australian Suicide Prevention Committee. Honours-trained in Social Work, and she is one of the youngest ever to earn the Order of Australia Medal.
