Meet the Canberran swimming the English Channel for mental health
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Training in the murky water of Lake Burley Griffin, 32-year-old Ashleigh Webb is making a splash about mental health as she prepares for the challenge of a lifetime.
Embarking on a 33km solo crossing of the English Channel in October to raise funding for the inaugural Kallan Lodge Library at John Hunter Hospital’s Nexus Unit in Newcastle, Ashleigh is taking on the dangerous marathon swim for a deeply personal reason—she wants to start a conversation about young people living with clinical depression, something she has battled for most of her life.
And while she describes Canberra’s cold waters as ‘tranquil’, as the date of her swim inches nearer, Ashleigh knows that the English Channel will require more grit and determination than anything she’s done before.
But as she dedicates her swim to honour her close friend Kallan–who died by suicide in Canberra 11 years ago at the age of 21—the founder and CEO of the Kallan Lodge Library says that “when it comes to big stakes, it requires a big effort.”
“Losing anyone in your life is incredibly unexpected and traumatic, but knowing that I had been in a similar position and state of mind, a lot of that is wrapped up in swimming…and the most severe parts of my lived experience with clinical depression,” she says.
“When I decided to start the charity in Kallan’s name and really wanted to make it happen, it did coincide with someone suggesting swimming the Channel to me and it just clicked as something that would help raise awareness, ”
“It is a big undertaking…but it’s a win knowing that I can have those conversations with the people in my life because when they asked me what I’m up to and what I’m doing, we talk about the Channel and we talk about the reasons why.”
Founding the Kallan Lodge Library in 2021 to spark a national conversation about mental wellbeing maintenance, the library is a comprehensive database of literature and music.
Designed to bring patients a little bit of comfort and joy during mental health treatment, it was born from Ashleigh’s and Kallan’s mutual love of books and music.
“I wanted to do something that raises awareness for my lived experience and the things that I’ve been through and also the things that happened to Kal, because he’s not here to talk about that,” says Ashleigh.
“[Books and music] it’s the topic that Kal and I bonded over…Kal was really known for what we now say is an eclectic taste in music, but actually, he had a terrible taste,” Ashleigh laughs.
“I’ve always been a massive reader and obviously there’s an element of escapism in that, as well as in music…I just came to that realisation that I can’t be the only one.”
Partnering with mental health facilities like the John Hunter Hospital NEXUS Unit (an inpatient unit for children five-to-17-years-old with mental health problems), the Kallan Lodge Library works with staff who are seeking to recommend books and music to patients.
Using the creative arts to connect with the children, Ashleigh believes they’re important therapeutic resources that are often under-prioritised within health funding.
“We want to make sure that in our libraries there’s a really broad representation of all walks of life and we want to make sure that any person that’s in those facilities finds something there that they can identify with, or that broadens their frame of reference,” says Ashleigh. “That’s been a huge thing for me.”
With all of the funds raised from her English Channel crossing going to the Kallan Lodge Library, Ashleigh also hopes to continue to start conversations about the stigma surrounding mental health and inspire others to take the plunge.
“We’re in a much better place now where we realise that it isn’t a person’s fault if they have a mental illness, but we’re not fully there yet in terms of recognising that people with mental illness can also do hard things,” she says.
“There’s still a lot of unconscious bias there and that ties back to the English Channel. I think because it is this really hard thing, I really liked the idea of completing it and breaking those limits.”
And with the title of the first female Canberra resident to swim the channel solo close enough to touch, she’s not planning on giving up on pushing the limit anytime soon. Calling for people to donate a book or album that opened their minds or just made them feel understood, she has big plans for the future of the library.
“We have a lot of big goals but a lot of those are around making sure that the Kallan Lodge Library is as effective as it can be,” she says.
“Hopefully one day every facility catering to young people will be able to have access, even if that’s through a digital database–if that’s what suits them. But I’d also like them to have a physical element.”
“The books are close to my heart but the record players are something that as a 14-year-old girl I would have thought was pretty cool.”
You can donate to the Kallan Lodge Library here or donate directly to Ashleigh at mycause.com.au/page/279044/swimming-the-english-channel
Feature image: Mitchell Webb
