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With mental illness set to again be the main reason for a person to visit their general practitioner in 2024, Dr Jeff Walkley, Chief Executive of the Belgravia Foundation, is encouraging workers in the leisure industry to make use of MHeLP platform.

Dr Walkley has today (8th February) used his address at the annual Diversity and Inclusion in Leisure Forum to encourage all in the industry to make use of this free, cutting-edge mental health eLearning program, which was developed under the guidance of international mental health and exercise experts specifically for the aquatic, recreation and sport sector.

Addressing more than 200 delegates at the Forum - being held at Zinc in Melbourne’s Federation Square - Dr Walkley highlighted:

• How mental illness will be the main reason for a person to visit their general practitioner this year (as it has been for the past four years)
• That 45% of Australians will experience a mental illness in their lifetime
• Youth aged between 15 and 24 years (the aquatics and recreation sector’s largest employee cohort) have the highest prevalence of mental illness to any age group
• 5,000 participants across the country have already benefited from MHeLP

The purpose of MHeLP’s online training is to provide knowledge to the learner to better understand their own and others mental health but also improve their confidence to support someone living with a mental health condition; whether that is a family member, friend, colleague, teammate, member or guest. 

It is completely free, online, accessible at any time from any place, self-paced and evidence-based resource that supports workers and volunteers in the aquatic, recreation and community sports sectors.  

Dr Walkley advises “I aim to take advantage of presenting to the ‘who’s who’ in the leisure sector on the 8th of February to drive home how important this free online learning platform is to us all. There is no reason why anyone should be shying away from this critically important resource; it is a vital tool for everyone in the sector to take advantage of.

“Additionally, as employers in the leisure sector, we each hold a responsibility as per Safe Work Australia’s Code of Practice to manage psychosocial hazards in our workplace, the same as we currently must do for physical hazards. MHeLP supports this by providing information​ and training for your workforce. Given the stats around the rise of mental illness, it’s a no-brainer that everyone should be taking advantage of this free resource.”

This presentation is just one of many that attendees will benefit from at the second edition of the Forum, with the sessions focused on delivering informative insight into a variety of evidence-based practices.

Click here to view Safe Work Australia’s Code of Practice to manage psychosocial hazards in the workplace

Click here to purchase a ticket to the Diversity and Inclusion in Leisure Forum. 

Click here for more information on MHeLP. 

The Forum followed the Belgravia Foundation’s 2024 Inspiration Breakfast - also being held at Zinc.

Click here for details of the 2024 Diversity, Inclusion and Leisure Forum in the Australasian Leisure Management industry Calendar.

Lower image: Dr Jeff Walkley with Belgravia Foundation Chair Alex Lord.

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