The Bridge Youth Service is proud to announce 16-year-old Molly McLeod as its new youth ambassador for 2025.

A passionate mental health advocate and small business owner, Molly brings lived experience, courage and an inspiring voice to the role.

The Youth Ambassador Program at The Bridge Youth Service supports a young person who has accessed the service and is eager to grow, give back and make a difference.

Molly, who lives in Tocumwal with her family, will use her journey and insight to help shape how the organisation engages with and supports young people.

“I am pretty passionate about mental health and speaking up when you’re being treated poorly,” Molly said.

“Helping other people feel less alone through sharing my story.”

Molly first connected with The Bridge Youth Service through the Navigator Program after facing challenges with school attendance and mental health.

She recalls that meeting her specialist youth worker, Sarah, was a turning point.

“Sarah made me feel like I wasn’t crazy and what I was feeling was valid,” she said.

That support became especially important when Molly received a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder.

“I was really scared and really confused because I didn’t know what it was. And Sarah really helped me understand it and talked me through it,” she said.

After months of reflection and support, Molly made the difficult decision to leave school.

“It was very hard because it had been ingrained in my brain since I was like ... five, yeah, that you finished school,” she said.

“I come from a family of teachers and had a very old-style principal in primary school who was very, ‘you have to finish Year 12’.

“We spent like three months just going through accepting that we don’t have to finish school as well.”

Molly’s mum, Lyndall, recalls how powerful that support was.

“(It) was tremendous from a parent’s point of view because sometimes even when we were talking about it, you know, it’s a different connection.

“You (Sarah) came in and you had all these wonderful ideas and that helped, too.”

With encouragement from Sarah and a close friend, Molly launched her baking business, Daisy Chain Baking Co.

“I decided to start it last year because I needed another reason to just keep going and to have something to look forward to and work towards,” Molly said.

Now, as youth ambassador, Molly is determined to use her experiences to help others feel seen and supported.

“I hope to make other people feel heard and that what they’re going through happens to other people and that it’s not normal, but it’s not un-normal,” she said.

She and her family have also experienced the challenges of accessing timely support in a rural area.

Lyndall remarked that accessibility around mental health in rural areas wasn’t “very good”.

“I wasn’t seeing anyone up until I started seeing you (Sarah),” Molly said.

“The accessibility to get some help in a timely manner was such an issue ... I saw my doctor… four or five times before she actually made a referral... she was like, you’re probably just low on iron..

“I was, but that’s not the point — something else was going on.”

Since receiving the right support, Molly’s outlook has completely changed.

“I’m not scared to look forward now,” she said.

“I’m so proud of myself now.”

Her mum agrees.

“She’s glowing,” Lyndall said.

“The sparkle in her has returned.”

Molly still journals every day, bakes with passion and listens to ABBA on vinyl.

She also holds tightly to a quote from Gilmore Girls that has stayed with her: “People can live a hundred years without really living for a minute.”

Being chosen as youth ambassador was a powerful moment for Molly.

“I still have the voicemail on my phone,” she said.

“It was so exciting.”

Sarah reflects on just how far Molly has come.

“You have a whole organisation behind you,” she said.

“You’re now able to feed that back to other young people and you can use your experience to help.

“It’s validating that you’re an amazing human and your story is amazing and we want to share it.”

Molly sums it up best.

“I had this tiny shred of hope, and I hated that hope so much because I just wanted to die. But I was like, I can’t let this happen to anyone else,” she said.

“I need to try to get through this, so one day I can help others because I felt so alone, and I don’t want people to feel alone.”

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Sunday, 27th April 2025

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