The Youth Reference Group at headspace Port Macquarie and students from Hastings Secondary College took part in a series of workshops and discussion groups talking about how the recent drought, bushfires, floods and other weather events made them feel.

The young leaders were also asked to think about what helped them and didn't help them during times of crisis.

Hastings Secondary College students Patrick Rudd and Shannon Abbott said they were glad to take part in the discussion.

"Having a platform for young people to have their voices heard is such an important thing," Patrick said.

"It should happen more often because big events and issues impact young people as well as others in the community and often we are left out of the conversation.

"The mental strain of dealing with so many extreme things at once is pretty significant and then adding study on top of that can be hard for young people," Shannon said.

"I am glad we are getting to share how we feel."

Isobella Bennett has been part of the Youth Reference Group at headspace for a number of years now and said giving a voice to young people was crucial.

"Me being part of the Youth Reference Group has been so much fun because I have been able to talk to people and I think as a group being able to go to events and show that talking about mental health is okay hopefully that has helped others," Isobella said.

"In terms of connecting with other young people in our community having more information on where we can go and what we can do is really important.

"During the bushfires and drought there was a lot of talk but it was great to see members of the community come together and help each other in times of need.

"It felt like it didn't matter where you were or who you were if you could help someone you did. Social media was flooded with people asking for help and others offering help which was good."

A spokesperson for the Advocate for Children and Young People said the NSW Government agency is responsible for consulting with children and young people in NSW on the issues that affect them and gives them a voice within government.

"At present ACYP are visiting disaster affected areas of NSW to hear directly from children and young people their lived experience of how recent disasters have affected them," the spokesperson said.

"The Advocate acknowledges that recent events have had a profound effect on children and young people in NSW.

"The Advocate is also speaking with adults who work with, for and on behalf of children and young people to discuss how recent events affected their communities as well as the children and young people in their communities.

"Data collected as part of these consultations will be collated into a state-wide report to be considered by Government."

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