![North Tamworth Bears coach, Paul Boyce, with Roberta Butler (second from left) and the rest of the Hayden Butler Foundation team. Picture by Zac Lowe. North Tamworth Bears coach, Paul Boyce, with Roberta Butler (second from left) and the rest of the Hayden Butler Foundation team. Picture by Zac Lowe.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/ijfQKXbsEKgSKGW5xB5NiF/df358115-993b-4f52-a39e-37fa951f4280.jpg/r143_376_3799_2428_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The North Tamworth Bears will leave nothing to chance when it comes to the mental health of their members.
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North Tamworth officially launched its 'Bears Care' initiative this week, which aims to instil greater mental health awareness and avenues through which its members can seek support.
The idea for the program, first grade coach Paul Boyce said, was brought about after tragedy struck the club in 2018.
"Young Archie Byrnes passed away in a car accident," Boyce said.
"The club did their best to support the family ... Archie's father [Luke] is a very well-known and loved member of our club.
"The club did amazingly, we did a GoFundMe to raise money at the time, but in terms of being able to help him with what he was going through, we had no idea."
That event, Boyce said, was "one of the major [catalysts]" for the Bears Care initiative.
![Roberta Butler speaks to gathered North Tamworth Bears players in the club's first mental health awareness workshop. Picture by Zac Lowe. Roberta Butler speaks to gathered North Tamworth Bears players in the club's first mental health awareness workshop. Picture by Zac Lowe.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/ijfQKXbsEKgSKGW5xB5NiF/217497b7-d847-41cc-a26e-fa241d2d653f.jpg/r0_387_2048_1538_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The club plans to hold mental health awareness workshops, maintenance programs, and has put welfare officers in place to whom the players can speak.
The first workshop held as part of the program took place on Tuesday evening at Jack Woolaston Oval.
In an effort to facilitate communication about the sensitive subject of mental health and suicide, Roberta Butler of the Hayden Butler Foundation spoke to a gathering of roughly 70 club members.
Roberta's son took his own life in 2015. The tragedy spurred her to create an organisation dedicated to her son which would "[reduce] statistics and the stigma surrounding suicide; and bridge the gap across a diverse range of communities initiated at grass roots level", according to the foundation's website.
"[The first workshop] was very, very good," Ms Butler told the Leader.
"We didn't know what to expect, but ... we just wanted to share knowledge. It was very engaging, and we've had some really positive feedback. There's already people reaching out."
North Tamworth partnered with the foundation in part because of Boyce knew Hayden, and because it is "rugby league-specific", he said.
The goal of the first gathering was "to start a discussion", Ms Butler said, and the level of engagement from the players was "incredible". After Tuesday night, the foundation members will return for the club's mental health awareness round against Moree on May 27.
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The Hayden Butler Foundation also has a hotline which Boyce said Bears members will be encouraged to use if they do not feel comfortable approaching the club directly.
"A lot of our players are going through relationship breakups, some haven't seen their kids, some have got financial issues, and some have just got depression or anxiety," he said.
"So we want to make sure we're putting things in place to open that conversation and support them."
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