When JOCA was founded back in June 2016 no one could have envisaged a world pandemic and how it would impact on our daily lives, reduce our ability to socialise, change our working week and, most importantly, how the imposed restrictions would isolate some and threaten the mental well-being of all of us.

There has never been a more important time for mental health charities such as JOCA.

We are encouraging every club in Hertfordshire to adopt a JOCA type model and are offering to support their club, members and players by setting up a robust mental health and well-being initiative. Sadly, take-up is relatively low because, despite expensive and wide spread campaigns by the Government across the UK, mental health still has a stigma and no more so than amongst men.

Men simply need to cast aside the male stereotype image and give in to the fact that, gender aside, we are simply human and as such are prone to the same worries, pressures and concerns that crash down on us and make life for some simply unbearable, seemingly with no light at the end of a very long and dark tunnel.

Having a JOCA committee in your club is a preventative measure not a reactive measure. You don’t engage a physio in a club after someone has been injured on the pitch on a Saturday, so why would you not have measures in place to support your members' and players' well-being and mental health?

I am extremely pleased to say that as I type this, volunteers from Fullers RFC are undergoing their mental health awareness training, at the conclusion of which JOCA Fullers will be in operation.

Tabard RFC, Hitchin RFC, Bishop's Stortford RFC and Hitchin Crusaders RLFC are all JOCA trained and operational and I am currently talking to a representative from Barnet Elizabethans and Scunthorpe RFC. Great strides, but it could be more, when you consider how many rugby clubs there are within Hertfordshire.

In fours years JOCA has supported 115 people – not all of whom have been at the point of the extreme but all of whom have made the very difficult but extremely brave decision to reach out to ask for help.

JOCA has given many hours of counselling with one of our two dedicated specialist JOCA counsellors at no cost to the recipient and within hours of someone reaching out for support.

No cost, no questions asked, no barrier to access and no waiting list, something that we are extremely proud of.

Due to Covid-19 we may have lost our visual presence, especially with not being able to hold JOCAFest this year, but the JOCA volunteers continue to work hard behind the scenes to promote JOCA and to raise much needed funds to continue to facilitate the dedicated support for those who turn to us for help.

What can you do to help JOCA?

Talk about mental health, normalise it in the same way that you would stand at the bar and talk about your bad back or your painful knee.

Boast about your club having a JOCA Welfare Committee and ask "What is your club doing for you and its members?"

Stay well.

Justin J Burgess
JOCA Chairman, Welwyn RFC Welfare Officer

JOCA
Tackling Mental Health and Promoting Well-being
"Because no one has to try alone"