The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) mission is to lead and enable a united high performance (HP) system that supports Australian athletes/teams to achieve podium success.
When I was in Year Nine at high school, three people in my friendship group killed themselves within a week of each other.
That was back in 2011. There was no well being help provided by the school. No specialised counselling. Through that whole time, no-one spoke about it. Instead of being addressed, it was just swept under the rug.
That’s something that has definitely improved in recent years, but I’m still really focused on raising awareness and starting the conversation at an earlier age.
There still is a stigma around mental health. Ideally we can eradicate that but, if not, at least open things up. Talk about them. Make people feel more comfortable about what they’re going through opening up the conversation and encouraging individuals to speak.
Young men are among the most at risk, with male suicides in Australia occurring at a rate three times greater than that for females. Sadly, one of my friends who died was a 15-year-old young man.
It’s great to be part of the AIS/Lifeline Community Custodians program. Through sport, as we represent our country and wear the green and gold, many of us are idolised by the community, so why not use that to benefit others?
Hopefully people get educated so that the tragedy of what we experienced at high school doesn’t happen again.