Wagga's Good Blokes Society Walk for 9 to raise men's mental health awareness

Nine Australians die from suicide every day, amounting to over 3200 people in 2022, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

Men are three times more likely to commit suicide than women, with older men most at risk.

The Good Blokes Society (GBS) was originally founded as a place for men to enjoy a long lunch together. Now their mission goes far beyond having a pint and a punt.

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Founder Shaun Wallis said GBS is supported by three pillars - business, social, and wellness.

This has helped them buck the dual trends of male loneliness, and a shortage of people joining member based community organisations.

"It's about caring, being honest. We've created a community that's about support," Mr Wallis said.

"Whether it's to help them with $20, or it's to listen to their challenges that they're going through for an hour, to point them in the direction of some further education, we're here for support.

"We're trying to normalise conversations [around mental health] through creating a culture where people feel they can come in and talk about what's going on at home, the issues they're having."

This year, GBS hope to raise $50,000 for their charity partners and the GBS wellness fund through the Walk for 9.

Wagga's Members stopped at local pubs including the Palm and Pawn and the Riverina Hotel as pitstops along their walk, embracing the organisation's long lunch tradition.

Wagga member Tom Maguire said he'd heard about GBS through a friend, and felt as though he'd really been embraced by the community.

"I got involved through a good mate of mine ... I've been away to Sydney and Melbourne, done a few golf trips with the boys and thought I'd like to have it a bit closer to home," he said.

"A lot of us are businessmen who are mates through that sort of thing, but there's people you don't know. There's people here today who've never met each other, and there's a connection straight away.

"Once people come for the first time, they're stuck - it's very contagious."

To Mr Wallis, these kinds of easy connections are exactly the point of GBS. The business pillar supports the social by creating easy connections, which supports wellness by creating support communities for its members.

Loneliness, or feeling disconnected are two of the biggest risk factors for suicide. Because of this, male loneliness is starting to be taken seriously as a public health risk in Australia.

More than 2 in 5 Australian men reported being lonely in a survey by Health Male earlier this year. The health risks of this are comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) are asking men to "be a man" and take their health more seriously.

RDAA president RT Lewandowski said men in the bush aren't seeing their doctor as regularly as they should.

"Sadly, 50 Australian men die each day from preventable causes before they reach the age of 75 - and men born in Australia are still dying an average of seven years younger than women born in Australia," Dr Lewandowski said.

"These worrying statistics could be vastly improved by men becoming more proactive in improving their own health and wellbeing, and feeling more empowered to seek help when they need it.

"We also encourage rural men to embrace their role of being a caring colleague, boss, coach, mate, father, son, and all the other roles they play in their community...as this is a very powerful way to change the culture around men's health and well being, particularly in the bush."

Five partner charities - Outside the Locker Room, Black Dog Institute, Stop Talking Now, Mindful Aus, and Put Your Hand Up Australia will receive 10 per cent of total funds raised.

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