SAE Perth’s Jacob Borgward is tackling male loneliness through games
Jacob Borgward is a prolific volunteer, lending his technical expertise to initiatives across Perth, but it has been in supporting gaming initiative DadLAN, that he has found a new community and a deep sense of purpose.
When SAE Perth Tech Officer Jacob Borgward received a call from a mate this year looking for a venue for a gaming meet up for dads, he didn’t anticipate how profoundly it would change his life.
“He’d been asking me for about a year to come and attend one of these DadLAN events,” Jacob said.
“A week before an event was supposed to happen, he messaged me saying, ‘This venue’s fallen through. Is there any chance we might be able to do it at SAE?'”
DadLAN is a mental health initiative for fathers who are gamers and self-described ‘nerds,’ creating monthly meetups where dads can gather to play games together in person. Although its primarily targeted to dads, anyone and everyone is welcome to attend.
Jacob, a dad himself, called in the favour for his friend and SAE was able to host the event last minute.
“I saw what the event was about, got involved in it all and went, ‘Wow, I really love this thing,’” he said. “Since then, I’ve sort of been the events manager for Western Australia’s chapter.”
To celebrate National Volunteer Week, which runs from 19-24 May, SAE is sharing the stories of community members like Jacob, whose volunteer work embodies this year’s theme of ‘Connecting Communities’.
Jacob volunteers for several organisations, including West Australia’s biggest pop culture convention Pixel Expo and several influencers, but it’s his involvement with DadLAN that has made a profound impact on both his life and the lives of other dads.
DadLAN is a throwback to the ‘LAN parties’ of the 1990s and early 2000s, where computers were physically connected in the same room. It aims to connect dads experiencing isolation or loneliness with others who can empathise and relate.
“It’s sort of bringing back that old school LAN gaming vibe to make people a little bit more comfortable in making new friends and hanging out in these spaces,” Jacob explains.
Jacob, who co-parents his son across state borders, uniquely understands the need this initiative addresses.
“I suffer quite a lot from the separation,” he said.
“Dealing with my own mental health towards that and having an opportunity to hang out with other dads who are going through the same sort of stuff is really cool.”
He said in DadLAN, he found a unique community that he had never had access to before.
“When my son was first born, there were a lot of channels that reached out to my partner at the time to support her through stuff, which was obvious really great and a huge priority,” he said.
“There’s nothing wrong with that, but I didn’t feel like I had any kind of support network available to me. My friends were all around giving congratulations and stuff like that, but there wasn’t really anyone I felt I could turn to and ask for that advice that was outside of my family.”
Jacob’s approach to volunteer projects is unique – he connects different communities through his various roles.
“I’ve invited a bunch of content creators I volunteer for to come and do stuff at Pixel Expo… and then this month we’ve got a few of my content creator friends who are wanting to get involved in DadLAN,” he says.
“DadLAN will also be operating a space at Pixel Expo this year, so my involvement is sort of creating incidental communities.”
Jacob has suffered from an ongoing back injury and said volunteering has provided more than just community connection – it keeps him engaged with his passions during difficult periods.
“It keeps me busy,” he said.
“I had a pretty major back injury about seven years ago and there’s been times I’ve had to be flat on my back, but these projects keep me involved in the things I used to love before my back gave out. In those moments where I’m incapacitated, it still allows me to keep my mind active and doing those things that I really enjoy doing.”
Through his work with DadLAN, Jacob said he hasn’t just built connections but also supported mental health and found healing for himself along the way.
He said he encourages others to get out and volunteer, if they have the time and capacity.
“I think it needs to be a case-by-case basis but as a whole yes, absolutely I would encourage volunteers,” he said.
“It’s very fulfilling. You get to hone your skills, have a lot of fun.”
Interested in studying gaming or other creative industries at SAE? Check out our courses: Creative Media Courses – Earn Your Degree in Creative Media | SAE
About the Author
Andrew Bistak When he's not trying to save the world, Andrew enjoys travel (although loathes turbulence), going to the movies, reading and being a dad to his two dogs (and now twins) with his wife.
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