One suicide is too many for Langhorne Creek Football Club (LCFC), seeing a collaboration with The Shaka Project ahead of the Cooney Cup and Great Southern Football League’s Breakthrough Community Round.
Alarming research from Australian Bureau of Statistics’ 2021-22 national study of mental health and wellbeing revealed about 8.6 million Australians have experienced a mental disorder some time in their life, with Lifeline reporting more than eight Australians die every day by suicide – 75 per cent of those are male.
It’s a pandemic that’s prevalent in communities now more than ever, and one the Langhorne Creek Football Club spreads awareness for each year through community education to coincide with the league’s Mental Health Breakthrough Community Round and its own Cooney Cup, which the Senior Colts play for against Strathalbyn, in honour of and with support of Jarrad Cooney’s family.
Previously, the club held an ‘Are you Bogged Mate?’ presentation with Mary O’Brien, targeted at helping country men start discussions around mental health and suicide, while also giving them the tools to support each other through feelings of depression and embarrassment.
This year, with the help of a $2000 Alexandrina Council grant, the club has partnered with The Shaka Project to deliver an hour-long workshop designed to ignite conversations around mental health, and encourage connection, mateship and brotherhood through the ‘shaka’.
“It’s easy just to do the round and that be it, but rather than just putting on the armband and saying ‘this is for mental health’, we wanted to dig deeper than that,” LCFC Co-President, Jessica Chandler, said.
“(The Shaka Project) was always in the back of my mind, but then I connected the two and I was like ‘these guys are a big thing and I think it could be amazing’.
“I know it’s going to be tricky for boys to get interactive when you’re talking about feelings, but I’ve seen some stuff (Sean Weir) has done and he’s amazing, so I think it’s going to be a relatable way to talk about it.
“We’ve seen the impact lately of some events both in Strath and Creek, so I think it’s very significant and something that needs to be addressed more frequently.”
The event will particularly hit close to home for Strathalbyn and Langhorne Creek communities, which have been impacted ‘far too many times’ by suicide.
As a club that prides itself on being a place where friends call each other family, Chandler said it’s important members stick together both physically and mentally moving forward.
“As the Executive and President, you feel a sense of protection and care for everyone involved in the club,” she said.
“When you come here, it’s like your second home – it’s just a big family club – so when you hear news something has happened, your heart breaks, and you can’t help but think of the worst and it’s one of your players or someone you know.
“I think we’re in a powerful position as a club, with the platform we have, that we can do more, and if there is an opportunity, we’re going to do that.
“It’s like a game of footy – you’re going to be there if (your teammates) get knocked down, if there’s a bump, you’re going to pick them up, and if they get tackled, you’re the first one to grab their hand, so why should mental health be any different?”
Everyone is welcome to attend the workshop at the club from 6pm on Wednesday, June 28.
Even if people aren’t struggling themselves, Chandler said it’s a good opportunity to learn how to support others.
“If we’re not struggling personally, it’s about identifying those signs we can see in someone else, and at least know the steps how to support them moving forward,” she said.
“I personally don’t know what to do if someone came up to me saying they were struggling, so I think it would be just very informative for us to help others.
“We’ll definitely keep supporting this kind of event moving forward because I think it has no discrimination and obviously, we can tell it’s not slowing down.
“It’s a pandemic that’s going to keep going unfortunately, so the more times we can have that conversation, the better.”
