I’m not sure which chapter of the post SALT career book this will sit in, but it needs to be told as it is a uniquely SALT experience. I was booked in to deliver a Mental Health session to the Laharum FNC under the Netball Vic/WorkSafe funding. The session wasn’t to be held at the club but an address was given as 808 East Rd Drung. Now in all my travels, I hadn’t come across Drung before. It was getting dark when I was directed down a dirt road and arrived at a farmhouse with two cars parked out the front. My initial thoughts were, “does anyone know where I am, if this goes wrong!”
Anyway, long story short, I was greeted by Glenn the senior coach who runs an Airbnb with his lovely wife Rowena. They also have a function area which was where the session would take place. On entry, I was offered canapes on silver trays which was a huge step up on the slice of pizza or sausage in bread that is generally on offer.
Then at about 5 minutes to kick off, carloads of people started to arrive with the general consensus that this is a better option than having to train. I’m not sure if it was the dark lights that created the setting or the appreciation of the service, but the group were absolutely amazing in the open conversations that took place. There were shared lived experiences of the trauma of drug addiction and toxic relationships impacting mental health to the impact of generational depression and measures taken to reconcile family members.
Sometimes in the work we do at SALT you are in awe of the role that grassroots sports clubs can play in supporting their communities. You never know where these conversations can take place and sometimes it might be down a dusty road at Drung.