Secret Harbour student Alex Arnold created an app to help with men’s mental health.
Camera IconSecret Harbour student Alex Arnold created an app to help with men’s mental health. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Secret Harbour uni student helps revamp Albany Men’s Resource Centre

Vanessa SchmittWeekend Kwinana Courier

UWA Engineering Masters student Alex Arnold spent four weeks over his winter break revamping the Albany Men’s Resource Centre’s website and creating an app to provide men around the world with tools to help them manage their mental health.

The project was part of his 100-hour internship through McCusker Centre for Citizenship at UWA.

The Secret Harbour resident did not know the Men’s Resource Centre existed until he saw the internship advertised on the McCusker Centre for Citizenship website earlier this year.

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“I’d been looking for internships for a while and I couldn’t find one that fit, then when I found the internship in Albany it ticked all the boxes,” he said.

“Physical health, mental health, social health; you can’t be a healthy person without all three and I think a lot of people, especially men, just think about physical health and they don’t talk about mental health as much.

“I wanted an internship in the mental health sector this one also used the skills I had through my Bachelor’s degree in computer science engineering.”

His experience, however, was much broader than just software development.

Alex was exposed to the day-to-day workings of the centre, meeting the men participating in the Positive Mentoring Program and helping out during the centre’s Wellness Checks in the community.

His insight into the work of the Men’s Resource Centre and the not-for-profit sector has given him a clear idea of the types of organisations he will apply for when he finishes university.

“Being involved in their work was a huge learning experience,” he said.

“It’s no good just being technically skilled, you have to be a good person and good communicator too.”

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