Join The Great Mate Check In

The Great Mate Check In will be held at Brendale’s Hip Hops Brewers in November to help men start conversations about mental health and learn what to do in a crisis.

The event is on November 1 from 2-5pm and will include a panel discussion, a chance to learn about support on offer as well as networking.

It is being organised by How to Help’s Stacey Macmillan-White, with Men’s Information and Support Association (MISA) as the charity partner.

MISA, which is based at Strathpine, has been providing counselling services to men and their families for more than 25 years, offering behaviour-change programs, grounded in the principals of compassion and accountability.

The non-profit organisation creates a safe, confidential and judgement-free environment.

The Great Mate Check In panel discussion will cover men’s mental health, creating communities, accountability, being a role mode and more.

Panellists will include Martin Brooker who is a military leadership speaker, strategic advisor and executive coach; Dean Cooper a learning and development workplace culture consultant and mental health and domestic and family violence expert; and Daniel McCullough a mental health training expert, founder of Pharus Wellbeing and mental health and suicide first aid facilitator.

Many men suffer in silence - one in eight will have depression and one in five will encounter anxiety.

The Great Mate Check In is about more than statistics – it’s about mates, families and looking out for each other.

Martin says he was at the event last year and wanted to get involved as a veteran and someone who understands the struggles many men are having with mental health.

He says there needs to be safe spaces where men feel supported to have conversations.

“We need to give people the confidence that it’s confidential and that people have their backs ... no judgement,” Martin says.

“We need to find a place where men give you accountability and support you. This is a movement that needs to happen and this is the time.”

Daniel also attended last year’s event and says men need education, so they have the skills to have the conversation with their mates about mental health.

He’s hoping the men who attend are supported to create a community and build emotional literacy and education about the actions they can take to help each other and themselves.

Katrina Lewry from MISA says it is important to normalise men talking about feelings and mental health.

“(We need) for them to see it’s OK to have emotions and feel lost and confused,” Katrina says.

“They want to see what someone else has done, so they can come up with a solution ... where to get help and who to connect with.”

She says mental health is a form of health, which needs to nurtured and managed.

“We need to normalise it. It’s part of who we are. It’s not something that we should hide or be scared of,” Katrina says.

Hip Hops Brewers’ Shaun Reeves has had his own mental health struggles and wanted to do what he could to support the event, raise awareness, educate men and make a difference.

In opening the brewery, he wanted to create a meeting place for people to enjoy life’s celebrations but also create a community and safe space to talk.

To find out more about The Great Mate Check In, visit the website