It’s time to talk about men’s mental health - 'No man left behind'

Next Saturday (February 24th), Allia will bring together a group of 20 men at its Future Business Centre on Norfolk Street to identify solutions for encouraging men to talk more openly about their mental health.

Statistics show that three out of four suicide cases are men. Suicide is the biggest cause of death for men under 45, yet they are significantly less likely to access psychological therapies than women. The Allia Challenge Weekend "No man left behind" will explore why this is the case, and utilise the talents of the local community to come up with innovative solutions to this global problem.

Neil Prem, Head of enterprise engagement at Allia says “These statistics are shocking and something needs to be done. Men’s mental health is significantly suffering and we want to help them to recognise the warning signs and feel able to seek help from support services. If we can find realistic solutions to encourage more men to talk openly, then we are taking the first step towards men taking their mental wellbeing more seriously.”

The Challenge will involve a group of men who are passionate about what can be done to improve men’s mental wellbeing. Joining them will be CEO of the Rise mental health app John Harper, mental health activist Daniel Callaghan, and local comedian Byron Geldard. Allia hopes that these Challenges will inspire people to launch their own project to help tackle social issues in these critical areas.

The "No man left behind” challenge follows on from the success of Allia’s community innovation challenges last year when the issues of loneliness, isolation and homelessness were explored.

With approximately one in four of us in the UK experiencing a mental health problem each year, the new series of Challenges for 2018 will focus on mental health and wellbeing working with different people within the community including students, women and the LGBT+ community. 

The challenges will explore the reasons behind the statistics, with local people coming together to help find and test sustainable solutions. They will also explore insights into mental resilience.

At the end of the Challenge series, there will be a ‘passions and possibilities’ workshop, where the ideas formed from the challenges can be explored in terms of business potential.

Any ideas that people want to develop can then go through Allia’s free Serious Impact programme, which helps impact entrepreneurs to start up and grow, supporting Allia’s social mission to solve the most pressing global and local challenges.

If you’d like to take part, or find out more about Allia’s community innovation challenges visit www.seriousimpact.co.uk/allia-challenge

 



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