	{"id":124853,"date":"2025-11-12T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/?p=124853"},"modified":"2025-12-11T16:50:45","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T05:50:45","slug":"big-day-out-for-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/big-day-out-for-mental-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Big day out for mental health"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A MAJOR community event aimed at boosting men&#8217;s mental health support will take place at the Geelong Showgrounds on December 21.<\/p>\n<p>The men&#8217;s mental health family fun day, run by Complete Health Geelong&#8217;s Mental Health Militia, has become an annual gathering for people seeking connection and support.<\/p>\n<p>The militia \u2013 comprised of former one-percenters and Outlaw Motorcycle Club members who now work as counsellors and personal trainers \u2013 focuses on assisting those who do not quality for help through the region&#8217;s mental health and disability services.<\/p>\n<p>Now in its fourth year, the family fun day is rooted in humble beginnings. It started as a motorbike ride and barbecue by the beach in support of men&#8217;s mental health, with just a handful of people expected to attend.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, 300 people came along for the experience. The following year, the number grew to 600.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_124926\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-124926\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-124926\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2025\/11\/0G2A0147-copy-833x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"738\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2025\/11\/0G2A0147-copy-833x1024.jpg 833w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2025\/11\/0G2A0147-copy-244x300.jpg 244w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2025\/11\/0G2A0147-copy-768x944.jpg 768w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2025\/11\/0G2A0147-copy-1249x1536.jpg 1249w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2025\/11\/0G2A0147-copy-1666x2048.jpg 1666w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-124926\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Complete Health Geelong founder Troy Koerntjes. Photo: MICHAEL CHAMBERS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Complete Health Geelong founder Troy Koerntjes said the early response confirmed what his team was witnessing daily.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Because we&#8217;re a mental health service, especially around this area, we get people coming in all the time that need help,&#8221; he said. &#8220;So we knew there was a need for it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>This year&#8217;s program will be the biggest yet, featuring carnival rides, free children&#8217;s activities, live music, market stalls, and a bike and car show, along with a special Toy Run. Entry is free.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Koerntjes said the team wanted to create a relaxed, inclusive atmosphere that encourages people to stay and connect.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This is my vision: everyone lays down their picnic blanket, watches the bands all day and just has fun,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There&#8217;s a lot of things to do and it&#8217;s not going to cost anything.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Advocate Alan Thorpe will be one of 14 guest speakers to share their lived experience of mental health at the event next week.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_124927\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-124927\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-124927\" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2025\/11\/0G2A0157-copy-949x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"648\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2025\/11\/0G2A0157-copy-949x1024.jpg 949w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2025\/11\/0G2A0157-copy-278x300.jpg 278w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2025\/11\/0G2A0157-copy-768x828.jpg 768w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2025\/11\/0G2A0157-copy-1424x1536.jpg 1424w, https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2025\/11\/0G2A0157-copy-1899x2048.jpg 1899w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-124927\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cory Schwarzkopf, Troy Koerntjes and Jessica Budd are busy gathering gifts for this year&#8217;s Toy Run. Photo: MICHAEL CHAMBERS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In the lead-up, he will first complete a 90km walk, travelling from Ballarat to Geelong in just 24 hours in a bid to raise awareness and encourage men to seek help when they need it.<\/p>\n<p>For Mr Thorpe, who has completed five endurance walks in the past five years and raised more than $80,000 for Beyond Blue, his latest trek comes just one month after a 900km effort from Ballarat to Canberra.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve lost quite a few family members. My dad was one of them,&#8221; he said. &#8220;When I started walking, I was on suicide watch, and I got up and started walking and it saved my life.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m just trying to impact others and get to show people that someone like me is speaking up, so they can too.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>For more information, head to <a href=\"http:\/\/mentalhealthmilitia.org.au\">mentalhealthmilitia.org.au<\/a>, and to follow Alan Thorpe&#8217;s journey, follow <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/iwalkformensmentalhealth\">@IWalkForMensMentalHealth<\/a> on social media.<\/p>\n<p><em>If you or someone you know needs mental health support, head to <a href=\"http:\/\/beyondblue.org.au\">beyondblue.org.au<\/a> or phone the 24\/7 hotline on 1300 224 636. You can also head to <a href=\"http:\/\/lifeline.org.au\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lifeline.org.au<\/a> or phone 13 11 14. Help for young people is available at <a href=\"http:\/\/kidshelpline.com.au\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">kidshelpline.com.au<\/a> or by phoning 1800 551 800.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A MAJOR community event aimed at boosting men&#8217;s mental health support will take place at the Geelong Showgrounds on December 21. The men&#8217;s mental health family fun day, run by Complete Health Geelong&#8217;s Mental Health Militia, has become an annual gathering for people seeking connection and support. The militia \u2013 comprised of former one-percenters and [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/big-day-out-for-mental-health\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":216,"featured_media":124923,"comment_status":"open","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-124853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Big day out for mental health - Geelong Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Geelong\u2019s men\u2019s mental health family fun day returns December 21 with free activities, live music and support services led by Complete Health Geelong\u2019s Mental Health Militia.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/big-day-out-for-mental-health\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Big day out for mental health - 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