It is great to see that recent mental health campaigns have promoted the reasons and benefits for seeking support, to men. It is estimated that 1 in 8 men in England will experience a mental health condition at some point in their lives. In the North East of England we have the highest rates of men’s suicide in the UK. (figures from ons.gov.uk)
At NT LIFE we are uplifted to have observed a steady growth in the number of men attending, (25% of our participants in the last quarter identified as male). I say uplifted as this demonstrates an improvement around the previous and often stigmatising attitudes that deterred men from seeking support for their mental health, instead of having to “man-up”.
On the back of this NT LIFE wants to set up a Men’s Group, specifically to support the needs of the people who identify as male in our community. We are seeking first to understand the needs and wants of North Tyneside residents over the age of 18yrs who identify as male and want support to improve their mental health and wellbeing.
In keeping with NT LIFE’s ethos, rather than tell men what they need, we are looking to hold a number of engagement meetings with local men who wish to improve their mental health so that we can co-create the group.
- what interests you,
- what you would like to achieve by attending
- when would be the best times/days for you to attend
- where would be most accessible to attend
- how often you would like to attend
- barriers to attending so we can explore solutions
