sport
Collingwood Venues Drive Youth Sports With Integrated Mental Health Support
Victoria Park oval and adjacent organisations provide the physical base for youth activity while mental health programs operate steps away.
How we reported this
YSAS runs its Collingwood site directly across from Victoria Park oval and the train station, placing youth support services at one of the suburb’s main open sports grounds.
Why proximity to the oval matters
The oval functions as a daily training and match venue for local teams. Having an advocacy service at that address gives young players immediate access to help without leaving the sports precinct. headspace Collingwood at 5 Glasshouse Road adds another fixed point for intake and workshops, reachable by the same public transport links that serve the oval.
Collingwood Football Club’s partnership with the Not Alone campaign uses the club’s profile to direct attention to anxiety and depression services. The campaign’s social media challenge encourages participants to post photos wearing sunglasses upside down under the hashtag #notaloneteam, linking club identity with mental health outreach.
Workshop reach and participation data
headspace Collingwood schedules weekly Healthy headspace workshops aimed at building practical mental health skills. Records show roughly 30 percent of clients are male, a group the service notes often delays contact because of stigma. Intake calls are taken at 9417 0150 between 9am and 5pm on weekdays.
These numbers come from the service’s own client summaries and indicate steady demand from the youth cohort that also uses the oval for organised sport. The location across from Victoria Park oval keeps the two functions physically connected.
Residents seeking the workshops or the Not Alone resources can start with the listed phone line or the YSAS address opposite the oval. No further timetable changes have been announced.