I need to tell you something that might sound strange coming from someone you've never met.

You're not failing.

I know it feels that way. I know you've been told your child needs more counselling, more medication, more intervention. I know you've sat in waiting rooms for months trying to get appointments. I know you've watched your child slip further away whilst the system keeps telling you to wait, to try another specialist, to give it more time.

I know because I've sat with over 3,500 families just like yours.

Families from every corner of Australia. Different backgrounds, different postcodes, different stories. But the same exhausted look in their eyes. The same question they're too afraid to ask out loud: "Is it too late?"

It's not.

I Wasn't Supposed to Be Here

I don't have a psychology degree. I don't have formal qualifications in youth work or mental health. What I have is a broken neck, a broken back, PTSD, and the lived experience of clawing my way back from places I was told I'd never return from.

Psychiatrists told me I'd never work again.

They were wrong.

I deployed to Afghanistan in 2012. Lost three mates on the 29th of August that year. Came home with wounds you can't see on an X-ray. Then a surfing accident left me unable to move for four months, drowning in medication, watching my life disappear.

I understand what it feels like when the system fails you. When you're screaming for help and no one's listening. When you're told to wait your turn whilst everything falls apart.

That's why I started this work. Because I knew there had to be a better way.

The Pattern I Keep Seeing

After eight years on the frontline of this youth mental health crisis, I can spot the pattern from a mile away.

It starts with a first suspension. Your child acts out at school. The school doesn't know what to do, so they send them home. You panic. You book appointments with counsellors, psychologists, psychiatrists. The waiting lists are months long.

Meanwhile, your child withdraws further. The screen time increases. Four hours becomes eight becomes twelve. They stop exercising. They stop eating properly. Their self-esteem crumbles.

By the time you finally get that appointment, they're on medication. Then more medication. Then different medication because the first lot isn't working.

The suspensions keep coming. Seven, eight, nine times. Sometimes expulsion.

And you're left standing in the wreckage, wondering where your child went.

98% of young Australians reported having at least one feeling of anxiety or pessimism in the past 12 months. Nearly half of young Australians are experiencing high or very high levels of psychological distress.

This isn't your failure. This is a national crisis.

You're Not Alone in This

The hardest part isn't the behaviour. It's the isolation.

You feel like you're the only parent dealing with this. You see other families at the school gates and wonder why your child is the one struggling. You stop talking about it because you're tired of the judgment, the unsolicited advice, the people who don't understand.

You've been to every specialist. Tried every intervention. Spent thousands on psychologists, psychiatrists, programs. Six years of appointments and your child is worse, not better.

The system keeps telling you to be patient. To trust the process. To give it more time.

But you're running out of time. You can feel it.

Here's what I need you to hear: 75% of mental illnesses emerge before the age of 25. Early intervention works. But it has to be the right intervention, at the right time, with the right support.

And it has to include you.

Parents Are the Experts

I've learned something in my years doing this work. Something the mainstream system doesn't seem to understand.

You know your child better than any specialist ever will.

You've watched them grow. You've seen the changes. You know what triggers them, what calms them, what they need. The problem isn't your knowledge. The problem is you've been given no tools, no support, no guidance on how to use that knowledge.

The system treats you like you're part of the problem. I treat you like you're part of the solution.

Because you are.

Research shows that 85.7% of parents with PTSD have children with the same symptoms. This isn't about blame. This is about understanding that healing happens together, not separately.

When I work with families, I spend as much time with parents as I do with children. Because you can't fix one without supporting the other.

The First Suspension Matters

I testified at the Youth Justice Reform Select Committee in Queensland. I told them something they didn't want to hear.

60% of those in the youth justice system had previously been suspended or expelled from school. Over 90% of adults in prisons didn't complete secondary school.

The first suspension is the warning sign. It's the moment when early intervention can change everything.

But what do most schools do? They send the child home and hope the problem fixes itself. They wait for the behaviour to escalate. They wait until the child is so far gone that the only option left is medication and more extreme measures.

That's not early intervention. That's crisis management.

The Youth Regiment exists to catch children at that first suspension. Before the cascade. Before the medication spiral. Before years of pain and suffering that could have been prevented.

What We're Building

After eight years building Australia's leading youth development programme, I made a decision that surprised a lot of people.

I stepped away from Veteran Mentors to launch The Youth Regiment.

Why? Because I realised something. For eight years, families came to us as a last resort. After everything else had failed. After years of suffering. After the damage was done.

I kept thinking: what if we caught them earlier?

What if we worked with schools to identify struggling children after their first suspension? What if we gave parents the tools and support they needed before the crisis hit? What if we provided ongoing support for years, not just weeks?

That's The Youth Regiment.

We enter schools and provide education on mental resilience and entrepreneurship. We work with educators to catch children early. We collaborate with allied health professionals to offer alternatives before medication becomes the default. We support families post-programme for up to six years.

We've partnered with Learning for Good for educational support. Pro Patria for veteran employment and treatment. Frontline Labs for skills training. Dr Xanthe Mallett for peer review and research. Senator Jacqui Lambie for policy advocacy.

We're building something Australia has never seen before. A comprehensive, evidence-based approach to early intervention that actually works.

You Don't Have to Wait

I know you're tired. I know you've tried everything. I know you're scared of getting your hopes up again.

But I also know this: early intervention works when it's done right.

I've seen children who were expelled from school multiple times, on multiple medications, completely withdrawn from life, transform in ways their parents thought impossible.

I've seen families who were broken, isolated, and lost find their way back to each other.

I've seen parents who blamed themselves for years realise they were never the problem. The system was.

This isn't about false promises or miracle cures. This is about giving you the support, tools, and guidance you should have had from the beginning.

This is about treating you like the expert in your child's life that you are.

This is about catching problems early, before they become crises.

We're Here

I started this letter by telling you that you're not failing.

I'll end it by telling you something else.

You're not alone.

The Youth Regiment exists because I've sat with thousands of parents who felt exactly like you do right now. Exhausted. Isolated. Desperate for someone to understand.

I understand.

And I'm here to help.

We're launching our school programmes, our early intervention initiatives, our family support systems. We're working with educators, allied health professionals, policy makers, and community leaders to change how Australia approaches youth mental health.

But more than that, we're here for you. Right now. Today.

If your child has been suspended. If you're watching them slip away. If you've tried everything and nothing's working. If you're tired of waiting for a system that keeps failing you.

Reach out.

Because the question isn't whether it's too late.

The question is: what happens next?

And I promise you this: you don't have to figure it out alone.

Matthew French
CEO & Founder, The Youth Regiment
Former Director, Veteran Mentors
Afghanistan Veteran, 2012

If you're a parent struggling with your child's behaviour, mental health, or school issues, The Youth Regiment is here to support you. We work with families across Australia, providing early intervention, education, and ongoing support. You're not alone in this fight.