{"id":120860,"date":"2026-03-29T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/?p=120860"},"modified":"2026-03-25T22:16:53","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T11:16:53","slug":"sons-of-the-west-mark-10-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/sons-of-the-west-mark-10-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Sons of the West mark 10 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

A PROGRAM with a focus on men’s physical and mental health had delivered a wealth of outcomes for the Ballarat region in the past decade, a participant along with its coordinator said.<\/p>\n

The Western Bulldogs’ Sons of the West initiative is celebrating 10 years since it began in the area and will restart for 2026 next month.<\/p>\n

Since 2016, the program had provided mental, social and physical health education activities for 469 men.<\/p>\n

Sons of the West has been aligned with a range of state and local health priorities.<\/p>\n

During a 10-week period, participants work with experts such as personal trainers and health experts to improve their welfare.<\/p>\n

Joel Ballesty, a participant in the program, said that Sons of the West represented “community, commitment and opportunity”.<\/p>\n

“Regardless of how or in what form, this program allows people to come together in the pursuit of self-betterment,” he said.<\/p>\n

“To improve our eating habits, fitness goals, or learn about resources that aid our physical and mental wellbeing.”<\/p>\n

Gabrielle Hutchins, the club’s Ballarat and community programs coordinator, said Sons of the West’s longevity demonstrated its effectiveness.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Participants and staff from the Western Bulldogs’ Sons of the West program.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Having Sons of the West running in Ballarat for so many years is a testament to the program’s ongoing relevance, impact, and connection with the local community,” she said.<\/p>\n

“The program’s longevity also allows us to respond to emerging health needs, refine our approach based on participant feedback, and continue breaking down barriers to access.<\/p>\n

“Ultimately, it shows that the program is not just surviving in Ballarat, it’s thriving, growing, and becoming a valued part of the community’s health and wellbeing landscape.”<\/p>\n

Ms Hutchins said the program had delivered positive results for Ballarat.<\/p>\n

“Each year, participants report meaningful improvements in their physical health,” the program organiser said.<\/p>\n

“Many men also describe significant benefits to their mental health, including reduced social isolation, improved confidence, and a stronger sense of purpose.”<\/p>\n

She said the consistency of the initiative had created not only a sense of reliability that encouraged participant investment, but “a ripple effect” where information and results from sessions were shared with the wider community.<\/p>\n

Sons of the West will next run at Wendouree Neighbourhood Centre from Tuesday 21 April and Phoenix P-12 Community College on Wednesday 22 April.<\/p>\n

Registrations for the free program can be made at westernbulldogscommunityfoundation.org.au\/son-of-west<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A PROGRAM with a focus on men’s physical and mental health had delivered a wealth of outcomes for the Ballarat region in the past decade, a participant along with its coordinator said. The Western Bulldogs’ Sons of the West initiative is celebrating 10 years since it began in the area and will restart for 2026 […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":250,"featured_media":120863,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-120860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSons of the West mark 10 years - Ballarat Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Celebrate 10 years of Sons of the West in Ballarat. 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Join this free men's health program to improve physical and mental wellbeing in 2026.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/sons-of-the-west-mark-10-years\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ballarat Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-28T17:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/03\/TNG-25-mar-2026-48.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chris O'Leary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chris O'Leary\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/sons-of-the-west-mark-10-years\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/sons-of-the-west-mark-10-years\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Chris O'Leary\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/04d05b8986af5e5cfc4f47d99ba8ab8e\"},\"headline\":\"Sons of the West mark 10 years\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-28T17:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/sons-of-the-west-mark-10-years\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":411,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/sons-of-the-west-mark-10-years\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/TNG-25-mar-2026-48.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/sons-of-the-west-mark-10-years\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/sons-of-the-west-mark-10-years\\\/\",\"name\":\"Sons of the West mark 10 years - Ballarat Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/sons-of-the-west-mark-10-years\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/sons-of-the-west-mark-10-years\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/TNG-25-mar-2026-48.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-28T17:00:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Celebrate 10 years of Sons of the West in Ballarat. 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