Look Whose Talking in Tumut
The Snowy Mountains tower silently over the tiny NSW town of Tumut. Many of the men of Tumut were silent too, until a call to Gotcha4Life got the ball rolling – and the men talking about their feelings.
As practice manager at the local medical center, Jo Murrell watched men come in seeking mental health help, only to be placed on a waiting list that stretched from four to six weeks. With visiting psychologists and counselors often moving on after six months, many had to relive their trauma with someone new when they returned. A number of suicides spurred Jo into action.
“I could see the need in the community but there was nothing in Tumut. I was watching TV and saw the Man Up episode where Gus and Tom from Tomorrow Man go into a high school and thought that’s what we need – to go in and change the culture.”
Jo reached out to us. We got on board. With our program partner Tomorrow Man, we ran workshops in five high schools in the region, while Jo drummed up interest in a Blokes Night workshop for men.
“I talked to as many men as I could. I met with the President of the Tumut Rugby Union Club who had lost his brother to suicide and we held the event on their training night. I visited workshops, emailed, sent flyers, talked to women who could push their men to attend. I printed 150 flyers and handed them out to every man at the pub on a Friday night.”
Our founder, Gus went along, and so did 120 men from the community.
“A fellow was poking his head through the door and I pushed him inside too. They get so much out of it. They say, ‘That’s not what I thought it was going to be, but wow!’. One fellow came up to me in the street later, gave me a big hug, and said thank you. I hadn’t met him before. He brought his sons to the next one.”
A young farmer who lost his father at a young age had moved to the area and didn’t know anyone. His boss has become a father figure since they attended Blokes Night together.
Gotcha4Life and our incredible team of program partners Tomorrow Man and Man Anchor now return to Tumut each year to deliver community and school workshops.
