Community
21 March, 2024
United front for mental health fundraising
MORTLAKE’S Lucy Cody-Davis has hit the ground running to support a men’s mental health initiative – and all are welcome to join her.
Ms Cody-Davis is raising funds this month to support ‘The Shaka Project’, a Victorian mental health initiative founded in 2019 with the aim of helping to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health and encouraging those in need to seek help.
As part of the ‘run for our mates’ fundraiser, she is aiming to run 100 kilometres over the course of a month but, much like battling mental health, the journey is a little easier when you’re not alone.
A spur of the moment conversation with a friend saw Ms Cody-Davis invite others to join her in the cause, meeting at The Shed in Noorat on a Saturday morning before jointly taking off between Noorat and Terang – with everyone welcome to go as far as they choose at their own pace.
Afterwards, the group sits down for a morning coffee back at The Shed to discuss mental health challenges, and normalise the often-difficult conversations.
“I’m not a runner; I can’t say I like that part so much,” Ms Cody-Davis said.
“But I told my friend, Hannah, I would love to organise on a Saturday for people to come along and try and help me get through the 100 kilometres – she said, ‘Just do it’,
“I wanted to do something in the mental health space, but I too had to work on my own mental health to be ready and in a position to give that help.
“That’s how the running in a group came about; we just want people to come along and join, to show that you are there and you do care.”
Ms Cody-Davis said she was overwhelmed with the support from the wider community, with around 45 people turning out across the last two Saturday mornings to join her.
“When people kept jumping out of the car, I just kept thinking ‘oh my gosh, this is so great’,” she said.
“The highlight was people were coming from other towns, or local sporting clubs wanting to show support.
“How great to build those connections. We’re such a small cluster of little towns, I think there’s something about that togetherness which was such a win.”
Ms Cody-Davis has also launched an online fundraiser which, at the time of publication, has surpassed $2150 – more than doubling the $1000 she had hoped to raise.
She was originally inspired to throw her support behind ‘The Shaka Project’ after admiring the way founder Sean Phillip bluntly presents positive messages, the raw statistics of how many men are being lost to suicide every year and the fearlessness in which he openly discussed mental health.
“It’s a no-nonsense, raw, mate-to-mate kind of communication; presenting an everyday problem in an everyday kind of way” Ms Cody-Davis said.
“The stigma can be different to a lot of the girls; there’s a male stoicism.
“The whole idea of needing to be brave – who is that for? It’s not for me, and it sucks if anyone feels like that has to be the case for them.”
Ms Cody-Davis said it was difficult to know over 3000 Australians take their own lives each year, with around 75 per cent being male.
Since launching her fundraising efforts, however, she has already seen the power in bringing difficult conversations to the forefront.
“It’s been overwhelming but impactful,” she said.
“I had a guy I went to university with nearly 10 years ago reach out and say, since seeing all of this, he had opened up to his mates about his struggles since becoming a new dad.
“I found there has been a few guys saying how good it is been, or thank you, or saying they don’t need to feel silent because it’s showing that it’s normal.
“There are so many great organisations, such as Let’s Talk, which are helping to break down the stigma, but there is so much more work to be done because the statistics show we need it.”
Ms Cody-Davis will be hosting her final running session this Saturday (March 23) from 7.30am at The Shed, Noorat.
She invited the wider community to join as she aims to reach the 75-kilometre milestone, with support from Inspired Yoga and Abyss Contrast Therapy expected on the day.