Perth rider shares daughter’s mental health story at Manjimup High School for Hawaiian Ride for Youth

Riders passed through the Warren-Blackwood region last week for the annual Hawaiian Ride for Youth, with stops at Pemberton, Manjimup and Kojonup high schools to talk about mental health. The ride centres on mental health conversations to support youth health, social connections, education, and future career endeavours. Perth-based rider Jonathan Caulfield spoke on Wednesday March 26 at the Manjimup Senior High School, as one of 15 speakers at schools throughout the ride. Mr Caulfield embarked on a 700km journey with riders from Albany to Perth from March 25-29 over 4½ days. Along the way, riders crossed coastal, inland, and Wheatbelt communities and stopped at schools around regional WA to share their personal stories. “I told my daughter, Sasha’s (Caulfield), mental health journey, because she started struggling in about year nine,” Mr Caufield said. “We were speaking to the Year 8 kids, so it’s the perfect age group . . . to be aware within themselves or with their friends if they notice some kind of mood changes or people coming into a struggle. “Three years ago, I definitely wouldn’t have been strong enough to even do the ride, because my daughter was struggling at that stage, but now I feel in a place that she’s coping with life, and I feel strong enough to share the story. “My 19-year-old daughter’s had quite some significant mental health challenges in the last few years, and she’s a client of Youth Focus. “She has her ups and downs, but she’s come to the other side with therapy and medication and other coping mechanisms. “She’s doing a lot better now at uni and working part-time. So (I) told that story, and how it impacted me and affected my emotions.” Mr Caulfield told the Times students had the opportunity to ask speakers questions. “A young lass asked me, because I’ve got two other younger daughters, what was the impact on them, and how did you protect them from it, or make sure they were travelling OK?” he said. “There was questions of . . . when did Sasha feel confident enough to reach out for help?” In the lead-up to the ride, Mr Caulfield said he did a “huge amount” of training to be as “ready” as he could be. “Six months worth of training . . . clocked up over 4000km in the lead-up to it,” he said. Mr Caulfield said the journey was “cathartic” for him too, while endeavouring to give back to the students. “A few of us new first-time riders said it’s kind of the perfect mix of a really physical challenge, and it’s emotionally challenging just with yourself of getting through the ride,” he said. “But also the school visits and seeing some of the emotion there, and then a bit of fun mixed in as well.” The event brought together multi-generational participants, with more than 150 riders and 40 supporters. The ride reached about 1800 students, with Pemberton District, Manjimup Senior and Kojonup District high schools among those in the Warren-Blackwood region visited. Mr Caulfield said the ride and school visits felt like “therapy” for the riders as well. “But you’re doing it because you want to give back,” he said. “If one child at one of the schools now comes forward and seeks help that they . . . otherwise wouldn’t have, then this whole journey was worth it from everyone.” Mr Caulfield said visiting the schools was also an opportunity to see how the funds raised contributed to youth mental health. The ride raised $2,005,455, bringing the total amount raised in the event’s 23-year history to more than $36 million. The funds raised through the Hawaiian Ride for Youth enable the organisation Youth Focus to provide mental health support services to thousands of young people each year. “In each of the schools we went to there’s either a Youth Focus, or someone related to headspace that visits a school on a regular basis — so you can see where the funding is going and see them do their work,” Mr Caulfield said. “That was magical, to be honest.”