February 01, 2023
Toopi shares State of Mind for Indigenous game
Former New Zealand Māori captain Clinton Toopi wants to use the uncoming Maori-Australian Indigenous All Stars game in Rotorua to promote better mental health among the New Zealand rugby league community.
Toopi, who’s now an NRL ambassador, has been involved in NRL community outreach programmes around his Gold Coast home for a decade.
He says the work is extraordinarily rewarding, but it requires genuine compassion and understanding.
“We’re talking about domestic violence. We’re talking about racism. We’re talking about mental health – these are different areas of community that our program is involved in. So we’ve got a Voice Against Violence program, we’ve got a In League In Harmony program, and we’ve got State Of Mind,” he says.
Clinton Toopi says his State Of Mind programme has helped thousands of Australians deal with mental health challenges – and he would love for it to do the same in Aotearoa.