Scottish Woodlands supports male mental health
A campaign to help men suffering from poor mental health is being supported by Scottish Woodlands Ltd.
The company has also released one of its Toolbox Talks on Workplace Wellness and Wellbeing to coincide with International Men’s Day (IMD) today. IMD is an annual event highlighting the importance of recognising and addressing the challenges and experiences of men and boys. It encourages conversations about men’s mental health, positive masculinity and gender equality.
The campaign being supported by Scottish Woodlands involves putting up signs in Angus and East Perthshire, amid concerns about high rates of suicide in the area - working with the charity Andy’s Man Club.
The signs, placed in prominent locations in rural areas, say Going for a Walk? Let’s Talk - and point people to the Andy’s Man Club website via a link or QR code.
Through the website, men can access services provided by the charity - including in-person men’s groups which meet in the local area.
The involvement of Scottish Woodlands started when Neil White, Regional Manager (Central Scotland), attended a community meeting at Forfar Academy in Angus to address the issue of a high suicide rates among men in the area.
Mr White explained: “One of the ideas that came out of the meeting was to provide signage in rural areas, pointing people who might be at risk to counselling services."
“I contacted Andy’s Man Club to see if we could partner with them in a signage campaign. They agreed and we developed the Going for a Walk? Let’s Talk idea with them. I spoke to Gresham House [a forestry investment company who own a number of properties in the area] and asked if we could trial the signs on a couple of their properties."
"They readily agreed and I’m hoping we can put more signs up in other locations. If we could help just one man to seek help, I would see that as a success.”
Andy’s Man Club is a suicide prevention charity, offering free-to-attend peer-to-peer support groups across the UK and online. It was founded in 2016 by by Luke Ambler after his brother-in-law Andy Roberts died by suicide. Its slogan is ‘It’s OK to talk’ and meetings are now attended by more than 4,500 people UK-wide.
For more information, go to https://andysmanclub.co.uk/