OSBORNE Park Amateur Football Club players are “manning up” to tackle mental health and depression.
Fundraising co-ordinator Lucas Sartori said a beloved family and club member took their life five years ago, driving them to organise a fundraising round for mental health organisation beyondblue.
Since then the annual community beyondblue round has grown each year, with more than $30,000 raised for beyondblue so far.
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READ NOW“We had a rough year; we lost a few family members, one to mental health, which pretty much rocked the whole club,” Mr Sartori said.
“We wanted to think about ways we could contribute to the community while healing ourselves at the same time.”
He said the club wanted to move away from football’s “stiff upper lip” attitude.
“You should be able to come to a place like this where you’re spending time with 30 or 40 of your best mates and say ‘I’m not OK’,” he said.
“We want to break down the ‘man up and get over it’ culture that can be sometimes synonymous with football clubs and make not only our club but every club an open and inclusive environment where everyone feels safe to talk and let their mates know they might be struggling.”
According to beyondblue, suicide is the leading cause of death for Australians aged between 15 and 44.
In any one year, about one million Australian adults have depression and more than two million have anxiety.
Mr Sartori said the key to breaking down the stigma, especially among young men, was to promote community awareness about mental health issues.
“Other clubs want to adopt this round too. We’re partnering with the Bayswater club, which lost two of their members last year,” he said.
“There’s no bigger cultural phenomenon in Australia than footy. It is a great way for to the community to come together.”
For help, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 .
The details Osborne Park Amateur Football Club Beyond Blue Round, come dressed in your best blue outfit, food trucks and kids activities available WHEN: Saturday, July 29, 12-5pm WHERE: Robinson Reserve DONATE: https://give.everydayhero.com/au/annual-charity-round-proudly-supporting-beyond-blue-2
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