Grassroots footy tackles mental health stigma
GEELONG West and Corio will meet again this weekend in the second staging of the Geelong & District Football League’s Shaka Cup, with the match continuing to double as a platform for mental health awareness.
Following a strong response to last year’s inaugural clash, the Devils and Giants return to Scaada Stadium in partnership with local suicide prevention charity The Shaka Project, aiming to keep the conversation front of mind both on and off the field.
The Shaka Project facilitator and community engagement officer Adam Looker said the initiative grew from a shared desire between the two clubs to challenge stigma within their own environments.
“Corio and Geelong West both really wanted to try and destigmatise mental health in their own communities,” he said. “Corio reached out to us, so that we could do a session out of their football club and then Geelong West followed suit.
“We’re into year two this year and it’s taken off.”
Looker said linking the message to local sport had proven particularly effective, with last year’s event helping prompt workshops across almost every club in the league.
“Football and netball clubs are known to be quite a good space for people to be a part of, however, there still is that stigma around [mental health],” Looker said. “It’s very much, you come to the club, you drink some beers, you have to laugh and you go home.
“The fact that these clubs are willing to say ‘No, we’re more than that. We’re a club where people can feel safe to talk to each other’, is absolutely huge in this day and age.
“When it comes to grassroots sports, it’s where so many people find so much joy in their life. They spend so much of their life there, so it’s really important for them to be able to make sure that they’re going to a place where they feel safe and comfortable to open up to people if they need to.”
