SportWest is pleased to highlight an upcoming mental health initiative focusing on supporting State Sporting Association (SSA) staff to understand and respond to mental health incidents and promote mental health and wellbeing in community sport. The initiative has been developed to help implement recommendations from the Mental Health and Wellbeing Community Framework that was launched by SportWest late in 2021.

Through extensive consultation with SSA’s, community clubs and mental health providers, the Framework has highlighted four key areas where community sport require assistance:

1. Creating a club culture and environment that is inclusive of all people and promotes mental health and wellbeing of all those involved.

2. Increasing mental health awareness and literacy, knowing how to respond to people, encouraging help seeking behaviour and developing links with local services and supports.

3. Increase awareness of and linkages with mental health support services.

4. Responding to critical mental health incidents/events, mental ill health of a member or a major crisis affecting the club.

The program will take a top-down approach, leading, upskilling and supporting SSA staff so that they can better support the wider sporting community in WA. Based on funding provided by the Mental Health Commission, SportWest will be building online training and resources available to members to develop skills and knowledge when dealing with mental health issues in sport. This will be supported by workshop training for identified mental health champions within SSA’s and ongoing support provided through SportWest’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Project Manager, Rhys King. To achieve this goal, SportWest will be partnering with a mental health provider and utilising mental health experts to develop and implement the program.

We look forward to sharing full details on the initiative shortly.