The Language of Hope - Jeanette Pritchard

Our young people are precious, and we all share the dream of them having positive futures. However, many of our young people have lost hope in our society. Statistics show their mental health has been deteriorating for a number of years, and suicide is the leading cause of death for young people. Reports show that the situation rose to crisis levels during the COVID-19 crisis.

In her book The Language of Hope, Jeanette Pritchard explores why our young people have lost hope in our society and what we can do about it. It lays out a roadmap for how we can reset society so our young people can have a positive future. It suggests that the energy needed to drive that reset needs to come from community members kickstarting their hearts and reclaiming the heart's language - a language made up of HopeEmpathyActionRelationshipsTrust, all of which are desperately needed for young people to find hope again.

The book is based on Jeanette's experience with young people. For many years she was a secondary teacher, but since 2003 she has focused her energy on working with schools and communities to create mentoring programs for young people . These programs have included the Standing Tall program in Hamilton, Victoria, and the Big Futures program within the BigBrothersBigSisters Australia organisation. Jeanette has been awarded both the Westfield Premier's Education Scholarship and the Victorian Department of Education Excellence Award for community school engagement.