Why join? Why now?

During the pandemic we have witnessed the emergence of a kinder society that has highlighted how strongly we value staying connected and how deeply we depend on each other – however with significant uncertainty and need to adapt to our ‘new normal’ it is clear that statutory services or a focus solely on interventions of a crisis nature will only go a small way to supporting people when the going gets tough.

Thriving, positive and supportive communities are essential to encourage acceptance, hope, resilience and message that recovery is possible.

Men in particular are at increased risk of mental ill health and the suicide rates remain stubbornly high with generic approaches to supporting men not offering the nuance needed to authentically support us - often “blokes” are offered support which doesn’t recognise that we are more than a sum of our parts. Understanding men’s mental health through the lens of the “whole-person” therefore is crucial to address how we recognise and support our life-experiences….but what is out there, what is missing and how can we encourage a coming together of approaches?

The Event

We are fortunate to welcome Joe Potter from The Samaritans who have recently produced guidance on “Engaging Men Earlier” https://media.samaritans.org/documents/Samaritans_Handbook_for_mens_wellbeing_services_2021.pdf which sets out a set of core principles around authentic engagement and involvement.

Joe will describe the findings in more detail and we will then investigate the power and effectiveness of “reaching-in” to communities by hearing from a wide collective of innovators, thinkers and champions from areas including finance and debt, cultural perspectives, gambling and addiction, male grooming, nature and connection, sport and physical activity – all who are authentically talking the language of their communities based on a vision of support, compassion, good humour and positivity.

Developing a Collaborative Approach for Men's Mental Health - a webinar