Hawthorn Football Club is proud to announce a brand new community partnership with not-for-profit health organisation, Sport and Life Training (SALT). 

Together, SALT and Hawthorn will provide meaningful mental health and well-being programs to over 1,700 young people across Victoria, Tasmania and the Northern Territory, with the vision to transform Australian culture through sport.

Hawthorn CEO Justin Reeves said the partnership is incredibly important in the club’s commitment to educating the community on the power of positive mental health and making it a part of everyday conversations. 

“Reducing the stigma regarding mental health is a major focus for the Hawthorn Football Club and we are committed to improving the health and wellbeing of our community, particularly young people,” Reeves said.  

“We are delighted to be partnering with SALT, who are extremely experienced at delivering mental health and well-being programs to young Australians. 

“Hawthorn has an incredibly strong partnership with beyondblue, which is heading into its 14^thyear, and we’re looking forward to now working with both beyondblue and SALT to continue creating positive change in peoples’ lives.” 

With 560,000 young Australians experiencing some form of mental health disorder in the past year, SALT CEO Dave Burt said the organisation is thrilled to be partnering with such an iconic sporting club to help make a difference.

“Sporting clubs are the hub of every community and provide the perfect network to facilitate sustainable cultural change, making the decision to partner with a national club like the Hawks was an easy one” Burt said.

“Hawthorn are known as the family club and they have a strong commitment to raising awareness and seeing positive change for people dealing with mental health issues which aligns perfectly with the core objectives of our organisation. 

“We believe everyone benefits from a supportive team environment and positive culture. Our teachers understand the context of sporting club culture and are trained and experienced across a wide range of issues to ensure young people are given the best support.”