No community, sport, workplace or family has been spared from the clutches of mental health problems.
Wexford Wanderers RFC are like every other club in Ireland, made up of a wide demographic; young and old, new and established players and members.
The rugby club is a place to play, train and socialise, it is a community.
While Wanderers may share a healthy rivalry on the field with the three other rugby clubs situated in Wexford – New Ross, Enniscorthy and Gorey – off the field they share strong bonds and friendships that are long-standing.
Wexford Wanderers are looking to utilise this relationship with its good neighbours by starting an initiative in the rugby community of Wexford.
Wexford have invited ASK, a mental health awareness campaign established by Frank Staples (mayor of Wexford 2016/17 and current Wexford councillor), to bring their message into the four clubs and rugby community.
The first strand of the ASK campaign encourages people in difficulty to take off their figurative ‘masks’ and ‘ask’ for help. Unlike many other campaigns, the second strand of the ‘ask’ campaign encourages everybody to be mindful of those around them that may be struggling with their mental wellbeing by asking, ‘are you ok?’.
ASK will be holding the first of their awareness presentation in Wexford Wanderers RFC clubhouse tonight (Friday 27th October), and will follow on to Gorey RFC, New Ross RFC and Enniscorthy RFC over the coming weeks. All club members, both players and non-players are encouraged to attend and to listen to the message and advice offered by ASK.
Wexford Wanderers will then be embarking on a three day 92km scrum push around the four rugby grounds of the county in a bid to highlight the initiative and to draw support for the stance the four rugby clubs are taking on mental health.
For more information on these events, please follow the Wexford Wanderers RFC website and visit New Ross RFC, Gorey RFC or Enniscorthy RFC social media platforms.
One of Leinster Rugby’s charity partners this season is mental health charity Aware. For more information on Aware and the work that they do, please visit aware.ie.
