On Saturday, December 18, 2021 Team Man Anchor, powered by Form1, competed in the fifth annual Lifeline Classic 2021 surf competition at Queenscliff Beach in Sydney, and took out the winning spot for the second year in a row!

“It was a fantastic day with a wonderful community coming together to raise funds for Lifeline Northern Beaches. This event is a great way to support Lifeline and those dealing with mental health,” says Form1 Group CEO, Steve Shirlaw.

The Man Anchor team, along with Form1, also won the top fundraising spot and broke the event record for team fundraising. The event raised $78,976.97 overall – an outstanding achievement for everyone involved.

Lifeline Classic is a community event where twenty teams, who raise the most funds, are invited to hit the waves in a super-fun tag team surf event. Man Anchor is a grassroots movement that provides mental health education and workshops for businesses, schools, and community groups, small and large business, NGO’s, NFP and all levels of government. Man Anchor have facilitated some remarkable events for Form1 staff over the past few years and create opportunities for discussion and education on issues affecting men, and women.

In 2021, a year that caused high levels of stress and distress to many, Man Anchor had the pleasure of having 7,867 people participate in workshops across 255 sessions. Man Anchor believe in building the mental health literacy level of all Australians. Around one in five Australians will experience mental health difficulties at some stage in their life. The first step in helping someone through a difficult time is to have a basic understanding of the underlying causes of mental health issues and what you can do to keep them safe.

Man Anchor runs Let’s Talk workshops, mental health first aid courses, and education programs designed to engage and encourage people to kick start conversations about wellbeing and mental health. If you would like to learn more about Man Anchor click here. 

LIFELINE SUPPORT

Every 30 seconds, a person in Australia reaches out to Lifeline for help. Lifeline crisis support services are free, or low-cost, but also currently higher than ever. In the past year Lifeline have:

• Answered more than 74,000 crisis calls
• Answered more than 40,000 Lifeline Texts
• Increased counselling services by 150%
• Held more than 2,500 face-to-face sessions

We are a national charity providing all Australians experiencing emotional distress with access to 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention services.

For 24/7 Crisis Support call 13 11 14. This service offers: 

• Short-term support for people who are feeling overwhelmed or having difficulty coping or staying safe.
• Confidential one-to-one support with a trained Lifeline telephone crisis supporter.