PHOTO: Some of the local men who joined a session with Tommy Herschell (far left) and Find Ya Feet last week.
By OLIVER BROWN
TAKING THE time to sit down and talk about hardships they have experienced in life might not be something that appeals to everyone, but for a group of Coonamble blokes last week, it gave them the opportunity to be open and honest with their mates.
More than a dozen local men, coming from different generations and walks of life, took part in a workshop dedicated to ‘starting that conversation’ at the Coonamble Golf Club last Wednesday 2 February.
The workshop was hosted by Find Ya Feet, a not-for-profit organisation which aims to remove the stigma around being honest about mental and emotional trauma among Australian men of all ages.
The workshop took a very casual approach with the boys using prompts from organisation founder and presenter Tommy Herschell, such as ‘worst beer you’ve drunk’ and ‘worst hangover you can remember’, to start up conversations in small groups by sharing humorous stories and anecdotes.
These later led into more difficult exercises where they were encouraged to acknowledge certain statistics about mental health issues among Australian men.
Mr Herschell said he was grateful to all the Coonamble men who were willing to be open and honest about their past and wanting to make a change in their lives for the better.
“There were some champion older fellas that said ‘we’re from a generation where we weren’t allowed to do this sort of stuff’ and the beautiful thing about them saying that is that it showed they wanted to see a change,” he said.
“We’re not trying to change the culture of blokes – I love being a fella, I love having a laugh and a beer and those sorts of things. What we’re doing is just giving blokes a toolbox to deal with the harder stuff.
“There was another champion tonight who stood up in front of everyone and spoke about seeing a counsellor – you wouldn’t have known he was doing that if he hadn’t taken that chance to stand up and he inspired everyone.”
One of the men who attended Tuesday night’s workshop was Mo Jacobs. Mr Jacobs said it was powerful to experience what he called “the honest truth between men”.
“Some of the questions were stuff you don’t really think about or realise you’re going through and to look shoulder to shoulder and see other men going through the same thing,” Mr Jacobs said.
“It was unbelievable to see a different side to friends that don’t always share. It opened my eyes and I think a lot more need to sit here and go through the same thing.”
A schoolteacher by trade, Mr Herschell – along with Find Ya Feet board member Josh May – also held a workshop for a group of teenaged boys from Coonamble High School while he was in town.
He said hearing the group of young Coonamble men being so willing to talk about their issues publicly was amazing.
“When we first walked into the room, every young fella got up, walked over and shook our hands and that was the minute I knew that it was going to be a powerful, epic afternoon,” he said.
“And within 15 minutes, the boys were sharing stories that they had been holding on to and there were blokes sitting with best friends in the room and didn’t know what their mates had been through.”
Mr Herschell and Mr May also brought with them two defibrillators which were donated to the school and local rugby club.
The defibrillators, costing around $2000 each, purchased with funds raised by ex-Coonamble resident Josh Cock who suggested the two make the trip to Coonamble in the first place.
Mr Herschell said he hoped to visit Coonamble again as soon as possible, even within the next three to four months, to follow up with how the boys and men who attended the workshop were doing and even see some new faces the next time around.
“A lot of blokes who go through these traumas, especially young fellas, might see a guy come in, open up a few old wounds, give them a few tips, encourage them to see a counsellor and never come back,” he said.
“I and any other schoolteacher would say the beautiful thing about being a teacher is building those relationships with young people and trust so that when it gets down the track, you’re able to be that person who can be there for them when they’re having a hard time and say you’ve gone through similar things.”
Mr Jacobs said he would definitely like to see Find Ya Feet make its way back to Coonamble again and hoped more men would feel comfortable to join him.
“I would want to come back again and sit down and share my thoughts with other guys and be better for it – I think everyone here tonight leaves a better person,” Mr Jacobs said.