12 months off the booze for Beyond Blue

A BANNOCKBURN man is putting down the drink this year as part of a Beyond Blue campaign.

For all of 2023, Zach Hickleton is giving up alcohol in order to raise funds and awareness for mental health.

Hickleton said he’d had the idea for years, and that he’s always seen a correlation between alcohol and mental health.

“I think alcohol is closely related to it. There’s a lot of people that self-medicate when it comes to mental health issues,” he said.

“Alcohol’s something that’s been around my life since I was young with my parents and family. As I got older, it seems to be everywhere.

“What I do now for the next 12 months won’t have a massive impact but whatever impact it does have, I’ll have done my job.”

As part of his initiative, Mr Hickleton is inviting everyone to offer their solidarity with a month of sobriety, and said many of his friends have put their hands up in the endeavour.

Since launching in November, his campaign has received more than $500 out of a $50,000 goal.

Mr Hickelton aims to keep the donation pool open for most of the year and will continue promoting the campaign via his social media pages.

An end-of-year celebration is in the works at Victoria Park in December after which the tally will be sent to Beyond Blue.

Mr Hickleton said the non-profit was the ideal choice to raise funds for.

“They’re one of the best that really covers all areas of mental health from addiction, stress, sexuality,” he said.

“Mental health is such a prevalent thing nowadays, and although we’re doing a lot in this space, we’re probably not doing enough.

“The response to this has been fantastic around town, and I’m hoping once I get into this for a few months the support will just get bigger.”

Mr Hickleton’s campaign page can be found at bit.ly/3UZIawJ.