The NRL, in partnership with the Healthy Communities Foundation, is delivering the Inspire and GAAME programs to schools in rural and remote communities across New South Wales and Queensland. These initiatives target small, often overlooked schools, providing much-needed resources to promote mental health and resilience among young people.
The INSPIRE Health and Wellbeing program provides students aged 8-12 years to gain knowledge and understanding the importance of building resilience, a good support team, and practicing gratitude. These values align to school curriculum, school values, the NRL and their NRL heroes. Students are inspired to learn through challenges, building strong connections and relationships and being grateful for the things they have. This empowers students to thrive amongst their peers, family, and community. Post workshop surveys are emailed to teachers to review and give feedback. This giving us the ability to improve the program and delivery in order to provide quality, engaging and effective programs with impact and purpose.
Get in the GAAME program focuses on helping students aged 12-17, understand and manage stress, encourage help-seeking behavior, and identify personal support networks. Former NRL players are at the forefront of delivering these programs, leveraging their visibility and influence to create relatable connections with students. Key elements of the program are an integration of a mental health nurse, peer support worker, or Aboriginal wellness worker, who offer professional mental health guidance and cultural insights to aid in the programs. Participants who partake in the GAAME workshop complete a post workshop survey, where participants reflect and evaluate learnings and understandings of the session. Providing integral feedback of quality program engagement, effectiveness, and impact.
In addition to the school sessions, the programs extend into the community with an evening event called the "community scrum" This panel-style discussion brings together local residents, featuring a local elder, a former high-profile NRL player, a mental health professional, and a community member sharing their lived experience. The discussion highlights the importance of mental health, the power of seeking help, and the value of shared stories in fostering resilience.
To date, this partnership has reached over 5,000 participants in multiple rural and remote communities, each with fewer than 3,000 residents. This partnership is making a profound impact by addressing mental health challenges in regions that typically lack access to such services, creating a lasting and positive influence on both young people and their broader communities through the utilisation of sport.