Ride for Youth returns to Manjimup as cycling tour raises awareness and funds for mental health

The Hawaiian Ride for Youth will be making a return to Manjimup this year when a cycling group visits Manjimup Senior High School to raise funds for mental health organisation Youth Focus. The Ride for Youth crew will be making a return to the school on March 20 as about 140 riders — including 49 first-time riders — stop by during their 700km journey from Albany to Perth. This is the 22nd cycling ride, with riders spanning multiple generations, from 83 years old to 26 riders younger than 30. Fifteen schools will be visited during the ride. Last year, students from the Warren-Blackwood region, including Northcliffe, Pemberton, Nannup, Boyup Brook and Bridgetown, came to Manjimup SHS to take part in a mental health expo which included speeches from the riders, along with accessing mental health facilities and support. The ride will finish on March 23 at UWA’s Riley Oval. The annual cycling event has raised more than $32 million since its inauguration in 2003, with a goal of $2m for this year’s ride. Youth Focus chief executive Derry Simpson said the ride had become “part of the fabric of WA” and she hoped young people in WA could thrive with the awareness around mental health. “The riders travel through a number of communities from Albany to Perth and the support they receive from those communities is incredible,” she said. “At its heart, the Hawaiian Ride for Youth is about bringing community together, raising awareness about youth mental health support, and ultimately creating a WA where our young people can thrive.” Hawaiian Ride for Youth 2023 cyclist and speaker Shane Cary highlighted the importance of bringing a visual message about youth mental health to schools through the South West. “The riding of 700km from Albany to Perth is how we get back home — the most important thing is the school visits and us spreading awareness about Youth Focus and the counselling services available in school and out of schools throughout the South West,” he said. “There is a lot of youth that go through a lot of tough times in the South West and the support services have always been so focused in the city, so it’s important that we are bringing the visual message that we are coming through the town and we can talk to the kids and we are raising significant amounts of money to support it.”