Your 2025 Westfield Mt Gravatt Local Hero is:

James Peterson

BREAKINGFREE INCORPORATED ASSOCIATION

Determined. Caring. Empathetic.

Since he was 19 years old, James has been visiting schools throughout Southeast Queensland to deliver educational mental health talks. Now 30, he runs the charity he founded, breakingFree, with the mission of ensuring all young people learn how to look after their mental health and wellbeing. 

 James’ unwavering commitment to giving young people strategies to make long-lasting positive change is rooted in his own teenage experiences of his father’s depression and anxiety. 

“My dad tragically took his own life a few weeks after my 18th birthday. This lit a burning flame in me to help people with their mental health, to prevent others from experiencing the hell that my beautiful Dad and family had gone through. This flame only grew when I saw the alarming statistics on mental illness and its exponential increase amongst young people.  

James has personally delivered over 700 school mental health programs, positively impacting over 140,000 young people, over the last 12 years. No matter what is going on in his life or how he is feeling, he gets up in the morning, drives to schools, gets up on the stage, and gives it his all to connect and change the lives of the young people in the audience. 

He explains, “The memory of my father and the critical need for youth mental health support and education is what motivates me every day.” 

The $20,000 grant will be used to fill the funding gap for 20 schools who cannot afford the full cost of the program, providing approximately 4000 students with comprehensive and practical mental health education. 

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We’d like to thank and acknowledge our finalists who will receive a $5K grant for the organisation they represent...

Irina Amelina from Equus Terra

Irina’s therapeutic horse-riding organisation, Equus Terra, supports people with autism, ADHD, mental health problems and trauma. Self-funded and deeply committed for the past ten years, her equine-assisted healing has helped nearly 1,000 adults and children to grow emotionally and adapt better to the world around them.

Dee Letoa from Street University

Dee runs Street University in Logan, which offers programs to help young people experiencing problems with crime, drugs or mental health. Dee and the team provide counselling and treatment, helping people aged between 12 and 25 through music, education, recreation and employment support. He ensures youth feel valued, empowered and connected, regardless of their backgrounds.

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If you need support, please phone Lifeline: 13 11 14

Recognising all our 2025 nominees

View all of the Westfield Mt Gravatt nominees and their organisations.