The Adelaide Football Club is tackling mental health head on, raising important funds for Mental Health First Aid training for community sporting clubs.
Delivered by Breakthrough Mental Health Research Foundation, Mental Health First Aid teaches participants the signs of mental distress and shares the steps to take to support someone who is developing a mental health problem or experiencing a mental health crisis.
Donations received during this round will go towards ensuring clubs across South Australia are trained in mental health first aid to support their players, volunteers, staff and wider community.
The campaign will be celebrated during Adelaide’s game against Brisbane on Saturday July 3.
Foodland and Adelaide Footy League have thrown their support behind the cause, donating $1000 for every goal scored, while Crows Members and fans both can donate via the Breakthrough Mental Health Research website.
Adelaide defender and Breakthrough ambassador Tom Doedee said it is important for grassroot clubs to learn to identify the signs of mental health distress.
“I’ve had close family and friends deal with it and early on, I thought it was just a mood or just having a bad day, rather than actually being able to see there is something else going on,” Doedee said.
“Once I started to learn a bit more and dive a bit deeper into mental health and the signs, I was able to recognise that something else was going on and ask them if they are okay or refer to help or do something to let them know I was thinking of them.
“It can take a lot of effort for someone to say they are struggling with mental health so it is important to give people these tools to support their community, and it is great that our whole Club is getting behind this.”
A number of Crows players and staff will complete the training later this year.
Breakthrough is Australia’s only foundation dedicated solely to mental health research.
The Foundation aims is to help create a life free from mental illness by supporting ground-breaking research to better understand what causes mental illness, how to treat it, and how to prevent it from happening.
Breakthrough Executive Director John Mannion said the money raised would make a big impact in communities.
“Sporting clubs are trusted voices in their communities and are an ideal vehicle to drive the message about mental health awareness and the need for research,” Mannion said.
“One in five Australians are diagnosed with a mental health issue and more young people are dying from suicide than any other cause.
“This is not acceptable. We need to act now.”
