Mental health message: Former Lockington resident and Rochester High School student Brad McEwan was part of the Rochester Football Netball Club’s opening home game on Saturday. He was attending in dual roles as a friend of the town and as am ambassador with the Beyond Blue organisation.
Brad McEwan was among familiar faces and several old friends at Rochester’s Moon Oval on Saturday, but it was his role as a Beyond Blue Ambassador that was the focus of his visit.
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Mr McEwan, a 20-year veteran of television sports journalism, now talks openly about his family’s experience of mental health issues, and the impact of losing his father and brother to suicide some 30 years ago.
In the space of two years, Brad lost his brother and father to suicide and did not see either coming.
Throughout the ordeals of the recent floods he has regularly leant his support to the Rochester community and did so again only days before appearing at the round-one game.
He appeared on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 to further explaining the plight of the Rochester township and will lend his expertise again at the club’s annual Supporters Group luncheon in Melbourne on Friday, May 19.
He will compère the event at Royal Melbourne Hotel and lead a panel that includes Carlton Football Club president Luke Sayers.
On the Beyond Blue website Mr McEwan explained the impact of mental health on his life.
“Losing a family member to suicide is something you never, ever get over. The scars always stay with you, even though others can’t see them,” he said.
“I remember feeling dumbfounded by the attitudes around mental health and being frustrated that there were so few people I felt I could talk to, which I needed to do to get better.
“I was 17 when I lost my brother. He had been struggling for some time and received some psychiatric help, but took his own life at age 19.
“His death rocked our family and this feeling was compounded 18 months later when my father also took his own life under different circumstances.
“This stigma has reduced dramatically over the past 20 years, thanks to people who’ve publicly shared how they’ve been affected by depression or anxiety, but we still have a long way to go in making mental health and wellbeing part of our everyday conversations.
“I became a Beyond Blue Ambassador in 2010 because I felt I really needed to help this effort in some way.”
At Rochester on Saturday Mr McEwan had the support of Beyond Blue national community engagement lead Kath Davine, along with retired Shepparton social workers Garry and Shirley Semmens.
The Semmens are volunteers with the Beyond Blue movement and have lived in the Goulburn Valley for 10 years.
“We were excited to come here for the day, every single person feels for Rochester,” Shirley Semmens said.
Members of Ms Davine’s own family live in Echuca and her Rochester professional visit was being followed by a long weekend with her family.
She said Beyond Blue’s presence at the Rochester football was all about “yarning with people”.
“We would love to have a bit more of a presence at some of the matches and an ongoing presence,” she said.
Some of the services available through Beyond Blue include:
– Call Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636 24 hours/seven days a week, or chat online.
– Head to Incolink for more information on the Bluehats Suicide Prevention Program.
– 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) is a 24-hour national sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.
– MensLine Australia (1300 78 99 78) is a 24/7 telephone, online support and information service for men and boys who are dealing with family and relationship difficulties.
– Head to Health can help you find digital mental health services from some of Australia’s most trusted mental health organisations.
Faces in the crowd: Beyond Blue national community engagement lead Kath Davine (top left) with retired Shepparton social workers and Beyond Blue volunteers Garry and Shirley Semmens.
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