Bristol Rovers Community Trust are to launch a new mental health programme for men in partnership with Talk Club (https://www.wetalkclub.com). Bristol Rovers Talk Club is part of a behaviour-changing movement aimed at getting men to talk more openly about their thoughts, feelings, worries and day-to-day gripes.
Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 49 in the UK and approximately three-quarters of all suicides are male. Talk Club was created after one of its Founders, Ben Akers, lost his childhood best friend, Steve Yates, to suicide in 2014. Struggling to process his grief, Ben set out to make ‘Steve’, an award winning documentary about male mental health and Talk Club is a legacy of that project.
The groups are relaxed, informal and non-judgemental - a place where men can simply go in and get off their chest what's been happening in their week. Gavin Thorpe, Talk Club Co-Founder said, “We all experience life's highs and lows and, we believe, Bristol Rovers Talk Club can be there for both. We have set up a thriving online private, men-only Facebook group. It's a fantastic welcoming community of men simply getting stuff off their chest daily. There are no therapists, no couches and no judgement - just regular men sitting in a private and safe space at the Memorial Stadium listening and talking. It’s a beautifully simple medicine that we rarely give ourselves, the ability to share how we really feel.
With latest research revealing that more than 60% of adults and over two thirds of young people felt their mental health deteriorated during the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown, encouraging conversations around our own mental health and that of others has never been more important.
Adam Tutton, Community Trust CEO said, “I am delighted we have partnered with Talk Club to set up our own Bristol Rovers Talk Club based here at the Memorial Stadium. Our previous mental health programmes and events have proved incredibly popular and we felt it was vitally important to remind all men that they are not alone, that other men feel exactly the same way they do, and if we share our feelings we can become mentally stronger. Together we can change the way we look after our mental health and help end suicide.
Bristol Rovers Talk Club Captain, Jack Newcome, who will be running the sessions at the Memorial Stadium said, "Sessions will be running weekly and will take place here at the home of Bristol Rovers. Simply search “Talk Club Bristol Rovers' on Facebook for more information on how you can become part of the team."
To join the Bristol Rovers Talk Club Facebook Group, click below:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/talkclubbristolrovers/
To find out more about how Talk Club came about: