The Southern Football League (SFL) today announces the inaugural RAW Round in support and to raise awareness of the work and programs Rural Alive & Well offers to rural and remote Tasmanians.

5 out of 8 Clubs within the Southern Football League (SFL) falls into a category of a rural and/ or remote location.

The RAW Round represents more than just a promotion of positive mental health and wellbeing. It serves as a reminder to the local rural communities, that help and support that is available through Rural Alive & Well (RAW)’s proactive outreach programs. RAW provides psychosocial counselling without wait and at no cost to participants.

We encourage everyone to support their local football community this weekend and head down to a game.

This year SFL Men’s League players have experienced RAW’s pilot program of “Beyond the Sidelines”, a suicide prevention program tailored to rural sporting communities.

It provides a holistic, multi-touch point program to challenge the status quo of mental health and what a mentally healthy and resilient sporting community truly looks like. The “Beyond the Sidelines” program also provides Clubs located within that rural / remote location area with direct access to RAW Country staff in an informal setting to help bridge the gap for people needing help and support when and where they need it most.

“It’s important for rural and remote Tasmanians to be reminded of the supports available to them.” says [Shayne Stevenson], [Operations Manager] at [Rural Alive & Well (RAW)].

“People might not need our help right now, but it’s important that they know where to turn to when they do. Life’s challenges come and go and reaching out for help isn’t easy. It takes a great amount of courage to put your hand up and ask for help.

That’s part of the reason why RAW chooses to embed itself so deeply within communities and sporting clubs, so that when life gets a little harder, people know the psychosocial counselling supports available to them. Without cost, and without wait times. It’s also the reason why we offer a free to call helpline”