13 Jun 2025
Today the school was lucky enough to have proud Kamilaroi man and former Socceroo Kaiden Powell speak to our students about mental health.
Growing up in Orange, Kaiden certainly overcame the odds to become the man he is today. He wasn’t afraid to share details of his rocky road to success and his many run ins with depression, substance abuse and suicidal ideation.
“I wasn’t shown how to express my emotions,” recounts Kaiden, “Men don’t talk about their emotions. Not only men, but my sisters as well.”
Powell’s connection with country was one of the great crutches he shared to help him through troubled times. Whether playing the yidaki or taking in the sounds of the bush when out walking, Kaiden has learned to use mindfulness to help him better understand his feelings.
“In terms of our old ways, culturally, we’ve always done these things,” Powell clarifies, “Some of these practices that I still do today have helped my go on to represent my country on the soccer field.”
Though his story was compelling, Kaiden was perhaps more keen to hear from our students about their concerns and life experiences.
“The evidence shows that the rate of suicide, the rate of crime, the rate of alcohol and substance abuse amongst youth is through the roof,” he explains, “From my experiences, that comes from not being heard. I escaped through those behaviours, because I felt like I didn’t matter.”
Kaiden was accompanied by representatives from headspace, Karraleika and the Linking Communities Network. The headspace crew even had students contributing to their 3214 pushup goal for the Pushup Challenge.
After the presentation, Year 10 enjoyed a barbeque with Kaiden and got to speak to him about all things soccer and mental health related.
Thank you for coming to the school, Kaiden and thank to headspace, Karraleika, the Linking Communities Network and our Youth Outreach Worker Jeremy Sharpe for facilitating this workshop.
If you find yourself affected by any of the issues in this story, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Jeremy, your year adviser or headspace.
