Nullawil’s Les Cooper was this week announced as a 2025 ABC Heywire winner, sharing his story about mental health.

The seventeen-year-old entered the Heywire competition to inspire other young people to step outside their comfort zones and speak openly about their mental health struggles.

“I think in regional areas, it's something that isn’t talked about enough and I hope to break that stigma,” he said. 

Les shared his story about how his mental health declined after his mum was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer.

“When Mum became too unwell to look after me, my mental health collapsed,” Les said.

“I hadn’t been talking to anyone about what was going on.” 

It took a meeting with the assistant principal and a strong warning to realise where he was at with his mental health. 

“When life at home was tough, getting away from it was an escape,” Les said.

“I began volunteering for my local cricket and footy club and as a country firefighter.

“When you’re working with someone, side by side, focused — you can talk about how things have been going. What’s been good, what hasn’t.

“Every conversation I had, meant the next conversation got bigger, deeper.

“It was a domino effect,” he said. 

Les’s courage in sharing his journey sheds light on the resilience and community spirit that define regional Australia.

“As soon as I spoke about how I was feeling, the community wrapped their arms around me.”   

Les recognises the support that he has received from a wide range of the community and is grateful for the kindness of others.

“I still feel I owe a lot of special people in my life for what they’ve done,” he said.

“It might’ve been a small thing for them, but for me it added up to something special.”

Les becomes the third consecutive Heywire winner from Birchip P-12 School.

The competition aims to amplify the voices of a new generation from across regional, rural and remote Australia.

Les will travel to Canberra in February for a week-long Heywire Regional Youth Summit in which he will meet the other 37 winners and brainstorm ideas to improve the lives of regional youth, meeting politicians and policy makers and making lifelong friends. 

Congratulations Les! You can listen to his story on the ABC Heywire website at https://www.abc.net.au/heywire/hw25-vic-nullawil-les/104620728.