From left: Casey Community Health Service social worker Hugh Walpole, Laurence Anderson from Dads in Distress, Peninsula Health senior community clinician Greg Holding, local men’s health advocate Ian Berner-Smith, Vietnam veteran Pat Flynn, City of Casey Family Development Services men’s program coordinator Rob Koch, Cranbourne MP Jude Perera, Vietnam veteran Rod Charles, Ashley Clinch from the City of Casey Family Development Services, Vietnam veteran Gavin Duncan, and Casey councillors Steve Beardon and Michael Farley.
By Sarah Schwager
CASEY men banded together last week to celebrate International Men’s Health Week.
Vietnam veterans, single dads, local councillors and health and industry professionals met to help promote men’s health issues during the week and to look for ways to improve the health and wellbeing of men and boys.
City of Casey Family and Children’s Services acting manager Sharon Bahn said the issue of men’s health was important to Casey, one of the first councils in Australia to employ a full-time men’s programs officer.
Rob Koch is responsible for developing support programs for men, both around parenting and men’s health, and was instrumental in creating the Casey-Cardinia Men’s Health Action Group, a partnership also involving Cardinia Council and YMCA plus several men and women from the community.
Ms Bahn said Australian men were less inclined than women to take an active role in maintaining their health and received fewer messages that their health was important.
“They are also less likely to seek professional help for problems, particularly those of an emotional nature,” she said.
“Males, particularly younger men, tend to act as if they are invulnerable. This can lead to destructive behaviours such as drug or alcohol binges, reckless driving or other risky behaviours.
“Women are more likely to have regular contact with doctors because of periods, contraception and pregnancy issues.
“Men don’t have a similar system that requires them to regularly see a doctor, and are less likely to recognise or act on signs of risk.”
Ms Bahn said Casey’s health promotion activities were not confined to International Men’s Health Week.
On 15 July the Casey Civic Centre is hosting an all day workshop for men with depression.
This is the second Beating the Blues workshop and it will feature a session from a local GP, a naturopath, and a personal trainer from the YMCA.
Casey residents are also encouraged to attend Men Behaving Positively III in Frankston on 14 June.
