{"id":345804,"date":"2025-12-13T17:43:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-13T17:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/345804\/"},"modified":"2025-12-13T17:43:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T17:43:10","slug":"rugby-league-cares-programmes-to-tackle-loneliness-in-young-men-total-rugby-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/345804\/","title":{"rendered":"Rugby League Cares programmes to tackle loneliness in young men \u2013 Total Rugby League"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n Rugby League Cares has secured record investments from regional and national Government to deliver its acclaimed health programmes in the sport\u2019s heartland.<\/p>\n

ONE OF the key strengths of Rugby League Cares is its status as a truly independent charity.<\/p>\n

Whilst the organisation is contracted by Super League to deliver player wellbeing services to players, and works closely with the Rugby Football League on a range of projects, RL Cares is not constrained by the workings of either the governing body or the clubs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It is the charity\u2019s independence \u2013 together with its established track record in the delivery of hugely successful programmes that continue to support thousands of people across the sport\u2019s communities \u2013 that gives external funding bodies the confidence to invest in rugby league.<\/p>\n

Over the last few weeks, RL Cares has secured significant investment from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, and from the offices of the Mayor of West Yorkshire, to deliver programmes aimed at transforming the lives of men in many of the villages, towns and cities where rugby league is played.<\/p>\n

The biggest funding pot comes from central Government which has awarded RL Cares with \u00a3300,000 for two initiatives to tackle loneliness and isolation among boys and young men in the Wakefield and Wigan districts.<\/p>\n

RL Cares has also received a smaller pot of funding to deliver in partnership with the Leeds Rhinos Foundation its acclaimed Offload programme to people in Leeds who are currently not in education, training or employment (NEET).<\/p>\n

The pilot programmes in Wakefield and Wigan will see rugby league greats including Keith Senior, Adrian Morley and Robbie Hunter-Paul lead sessions challenging harmful masculinity narratives and promoting mental health.<\/p>\n

Boys and young men in Wakefield and Wigan will benefit from a new sense of community, purpose and wellbeing from their interactions with the retired professional players, who will kickstart honest conversations about male mental health and help young men build confidence and resilience to better equip them to cope when life gets tough.<\/p>\n

According to the Office for National Statistics, young men are more than twice as likely to take their own lives as young women. Since the pandemic, there has been a sharp rise in the number of young men not in employment, education or training, leaving many without regular opportunities to forge friendships and meaningful connections.<\/p>\n

The Government is harnessing sport\u2019s unique power to give people the feeling of belonging and ensure fewer boys and young men are left vulnerable to isolation.<\/p>\n

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, the Wigan MP, said: \u201cToo many young men today are struggling with loneliness and isolation. We know the devastating consequences this can have, both for their mental health and for our communities. When young people can\u2019t find a sense of belonging where they live, they are vulnerable to finding it in the wrong places.<\/p>\n

\u201cRugby league has always been more than just a sport in towns like Wigan and Wakefield. It is the heartbeat of these communities. By bringing together the legends of the game with the next generation, we are creating spaces where young men can open up, build genuine connections and develop the resilience they need.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone deserves to feel they\u2019re part of something bigger than themselves. Through this work with Rugby League Cares, we are making sure more young men get that chance and can reach their full potential.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Government investment of more than \u00a3330,000 aims to reach 1,300 boys and young men by March 2026.<\/p>\n

The first programme, Offload, is designed to give men aged 16 to 24 who are at risk of isolation a safe environment to open up without pressure or judgment, while developing the tools they need to look after themselves and contribute positively to their communities.<\/p>\n

The second, Movember Ahead of the Game, will use rugby to deliver sport-focused mental health training to younger boys aged 11-18, as well as parents, carers and youth workers, engaging those at risk early through the game they love and the heroes they admire.<\/p>\n

Keith Senior, the former Leeds Rhinos, England and Great Britain centre who now works as head of wellbeing programmes at Rugby League Cares, said: \u201cWe have delivered Offload and Movember Ahead of the Game to thousands of young people in the last few years and the difference they are making is incredible.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe programmes are delivered by people who are embedded within the sport\u2019s communities and know all about the challenges boys and young men face growing up in areas of social deprivation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing able to call on our own experiences of tackling issues likes loneliness, social isolation and having little sense of belonging as we grew up is invaluable in helping us to relate \u2013 and engage with \u2013 the people we are reaching out to.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe values I learned as a professional athlete equipped me with many of the same coping mechanisms and strategies that boys and young men need to thrive and lead fulfilling lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

The programmes will run across four sites in the Wigan and Wakefield local authority areas, each linked to a club: Castleford, Featherstone, Wakefield and Wigan.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile in Leeds, RL Cares and the Leeds Rhinos Foundation are equipping \u2018NEETs\u2019 with the tools and techniques they need to tackle issues around mental wellbeing that may act as barriers to them securing fulfilling careers or accessing training and education opportunities.<\/p>\n

The charity has secured funding for the programme from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board as part of the Healthy Working Life campaign spearheaded by the Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin.<\/p>\n

Leeds Rhinos Foundation partnership and project manager Ben Berry said: \u201cWe\u2019re proud to be partnering once again with Rugby League Cares to bring the Offload programme to men across Leeds, with a specific focus on supporting those not in education, employment or training.<\/p>\n

\u201cTogether, we\u2019ve seen first-hand how sport can be a powerful force for positive change \u2013 helping people to better understand mental health, while building confidence, resilience and the skills to thrive. Through the Healthy Working Life campaign, we\u2019ll continue to support both young males (16-18) and adult men through targeted Offload groups, empowering them to take control of their wellbeing and future.\u201d<\/p>\n

First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 515 (December 2025)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rugby League Cares has secured record investments from regional and national Government to deliver its acclaimed health programmes…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":345805,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-345804","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-rugby","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=345804"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345804\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/345805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=345804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=345804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=345804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}