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> Giving Despair the Boot Giving Despair the Boot
By Clare McHugh Like most young men Tristram Pigram is keen on footy – he captains the Saints AFL team in Broome Western Australia – and is quick to smile or share a joke. Unlike most young people, Tristram and his team mates have all lost young friends or relatives — some just teenagers — to suicide. An articulate 22 year old, Tristram was flown as a guest of FRSA to our annual conference held in Sydney last November. He accompanied youth outreach worker Joe Tighe to talk about the Alive and Kicking Goals Project, an innovative suicide-prevention program run by Men’s Outreach Services Inc in Broome WA. On his first visit to the East Coast, Tristram found Sydney more relaxed than Perth but had never been exposed to anything like the FRSA conference. He was struck by the huge number of people working in the sector and ‘how much work is being done for people in need’. He wants to take that message back to the Broome communities. Before Alive and Kicking, Tristram says he and his mates coped with the suicide of young friends in isolation, trying not to think about it too much. ‘It’s something we didn’t talk about’ Tristram says. But a little over a year ago Indigenous parents — some of whom had cut down family members from trees in their own backyards — approached Joe Tighe, to help them stop the devastation of young men’s suicide. Joe, a fellow footy devotee and outreach worker, agreed to volunteer his time and support ‘if the young men could be the decision makers on all matters, not me or the footy club committee. I see this as leadership development’ he said. The Alive and Kicking Goals Project was born, using the natural combination of football and fun to develop peer leaders and networks among young Aboriginal men aged 15 - 25. Tristram is one of 15 developing leaders who will eventually work with ten communities in the Broome region helping others to find ways of staying strong and connected. Because no-one talked about it, Tristram thought suicide was a rare occurrence but has since learned about the alarmingly high rates of suicide among young men. ‘Every day someone takes their life’ he said. The peak age for suicide among young Indigenous males is 12 to 24 years. When pressed for reasons behind these high rates he says most young boys and men feel a sense of hopelessness. ‘They have no sense of belonging’. Apart from footy, other favourite past-times are fishing, music and camping. But as Tristram points out, when boys and young men drop out of school early, don’t have jobs or a sense of purpose they can easily lose connections and interest in these activities too. Unemployment means many can’t afford the petrol or don’t have transport to participate. As a result they can fade into drink and drugs. Yet the project’s education, sport and peer leadership approach have given Tristram and his mates a focus and wider possibilities. His face lights up as he talks about work and the future, his love of AFL, his impressions of the East coast and plans for travel. Joe Tighe hopes to raise enough funds so that 15 peer leaders can travel to his native Ireland in October 2010 to participate in the international football competition. They will play a mix of AFL and Gaelic Football and aim to get people interested in what is happening with young Indigenous men in this corner of the globe. Tristram hopes it might motivate other Indigenous young men ‘to get involved’. Seeing some positive outcomes from the project and the lure of playing football in Ireland with mates has already opened one young man’s eyes to the world that waits. He wants to share that sense of belonging to something bigger, with other young men. If you would like to support the Alive and Kicking Goals Project you can: Click here for more information about the Alive and Kicking Goals Project or join their Facebook group by clicking here. |
