By Abbey Cannan
Noosa Tigers Australian Football Club has released powerful plans to build a $1.4 million first class community health and wellness centre.
The hub is set to provide educational and physical support for the general community, sporting clubs, and schools.
The man behind the plan, Tony Frawley, was inspired to prevent mental health issues, after his brother, AFL great Danny Frawley, passed away following his battle with depression.
“About two years ago, my brother Danny, who was a high profile AFL player and commentator, died by suicide,“ Mr Frawley said.
“We’re now building a $20 million mental health facility at his old AFL ground in Melbourne.
“I’ve worked with the AFL for over 30 years as one of the CEOs, and when I moved to Noosa they asked me to look at their facility development.
“I thought, well let’s try and put a mental health hub inside the sporting hub in Noosa because it’s just so important.
“One of the best places to talk about mental health is in a sporting club because you’ve got so many diverse groups of people there.“
The plans feature educational facilities, consulting suites and structures for information and education on mental health issues for school kids and other community groups.
“The AFL has developed three mental health courses that people can do to receive accreditation once completed,“ Mr Frawley said.
“The Noosa Tigers will be the first club in Australia doing these courses and it will be like a testing ground for the AFL.
“It’s not just focused on AFL. I want to make sure every club on the Sunshine Coast can receive access to the courses.
“We specifically want to teach people how to identify the triggers that cause mental health issues.“
The proposed funding target includes $600,000 from the Federal Government, $400,000 from the Queensland State Government, $200,000 from the Noosa Shire Council, $100,000 from Noosa Tigers AFC, and $100,000 from AFLQ Grand Final Legacy Fund.
“We’ve already got the $200,000 and we’ve put in a grant submission to the Federal and State Government for $1.2 million,“ Mr Frawley said.
“We will hopefully get a positive response from the Government in early December,“ Mr Frawley said.
“We’re confident we can start building in the middle of next year and get it completed really quickly.“
Crisis support services can be reached 24 hours a day: Lifeline 13 11 14; Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467; Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800; MensLine Australia 1300 78 99 78; Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636.
