AFL Partners with Lifeline to Promote Mental Health
November 29, 2019
The Australian Football League (AFL) is partnering with Lifeline Australia as part of its campaign to promote mental illness; the League will kickstart the relationship with a $300,000 donation to Lifeline.
Mental health is one of the biggest issues in the AFL, with affected players including Collingwood stars Dayne Beams and Adam Treloar, Saint-turned Cat Jack Steven, Western Bulldog Lin Jong and recently retired former teammate, Tom Boyd.
The national crisis support network will use the donation for recruiting and training volunteers, extending its services and improving its overall ability to help those in need.
The AFL is also open to the prospect of holding a designated Mental Health Round at some stage in the future, although it has been ruled out for next season.
To address the snowballing problem in the broader football industry, in August the AFL appointed clinical psychologist Dr Kate Hall as the League's head of mental health and wellbeing, and Dr Ranjit Menon as its chief psychiatrist.
In announcing the partnership on Thursday, AFL chief Gillon McLachlan said the mental health and wellbeing of everyone involved in the game was "a growing focus" for the League.
"We are continuing to work as an industry to ensure we have the best processes and mental healthcare in place for our players, coaches and umpires in our elite competition and there is much work to be done," McLachlan said.
"Through the leadership of Dr Kate Hall and Dr Ranjit Menon, we are also working on wellbeing initiatives for players and umpires in our pathway programs, administrators across the AFL and AFL clubs, and participants and volunteers at the community level.
"This isn't just essential for our game, it's essential to enhance the wellbeing of the wider community."
Dr Hall described the alliance with Lifeline as "an important partnership for the AFL".
"Our football communities are impacted by mental health and suicide, and the AFL is part of this critical societal issue. Responding to mental health issues and doing more to prevent the onset of mental health issues in young Australians is everyone's responsibility," Dr Hall said.
"Through our support of Lifeline, we want to reduce the stigma of mental health issues and promote mental health and wellbeing for football communities.
"The AFL, together with the AFLPA (players' association), has a responsibility to transform the management of mental health and wellbeing across the whole industry, and to move towards best practice in mental health prevention and early intervention."
Lifeline Australia's CEO Colin Seery praised the AFL's holistic approach to the issue as "a positive step in the right direction".
"The AFL's decision to truly commit to the outcomes of the partnership by encompassing club, community engagement, education and, importantly, fundraising across the Lifeline network will make this partnership a game-changer."
Lifeline has joined the Children's Cancer Foundation and FightMND as the AFL's official charity partners.
For crisis or suicide prevention support, please visit  https://www.lifeline.org.au/ or https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/