12TH Man- Men and Mental Health
The 12th Man Campaign is managed by Nick Little and Tim Guy from The Outsiders CIC.
Tell us a bit about your campaign:
12th Man is a mental health campaign that works with businesses and interest groups, to promote positive every-day dialogue about mental health. It is becoming more widely-known that suicide is the biggest killer of men under 50, and that men don’t talk about mental health as much as they should. Often when men do talk it is in places such as a pub or barbers, so we work with businesses like this and provide funded Mental Health First Aid training so more people have the skills and confidence to talk about their feelings, thoughts and emotions without stigma.
Breaking the Stigma of Men's Mental Health: A Crucial Step Towards Healing
Mental health is an issue that affects people of all genders, races, and backgrounds. However, for far too long, men have been expected to keep their emotions hidden, perpetuating a damaging stigma around men's mental health. This stigma has prevented countless men from seeking the help they need, leading to adverse consequences for their well-being. It is high time we break this cycle and create a space where men can openly discuss their mental health without fear or judgment.
12th man are here to do exactly that, read more about their charity below-
Make a difference and dontate
You can find a 12th man charity pot on the bar at The Garnet or make a donation to a specific project here- 12th man Donation
What made you set up 12th man?
We decided to set-up our community interest company because we felt that new and innovative approaches to mental health were required if we are going to change the culture in the UK. We need to talk about mental health every-day, and we need to change the perception from ideas of weakness and illness towards health and inclusion. We all have mental health, every day, and our collective mental health is everyone’s concern.
Who is part of your team?
Our team is both very small and very big – Nick, Tim and Maggie manage the campaign, and we are supported by Liam for all things social and visual, and Joe and Sam manage our website. Another Tim manages the merchandise. Alongside this we have over 700 people in community settings who have trained with us and are representatives of the campaign and role-models for positive mental health. Around 25% of these people are women or other genders, so although our focus is on men & mental health we want all genders to support us and get involved.
What are your plans for the future?
Our plans for the future are really simple. We want to provide training to thousands of people and engage hundreds of businesses and interest groups. This will stimulate literally millions of conversations where MHFA training could be used – from every day chats life, through to crisis interventions and support.
What’s the best thing about the area you live in?
We work mainly in East Anglia, and live in this area too. One of the great things about where we live is the access to nature, whether it is countryside or the coast, and we know that getting out into nature is so beneficial to our mental health. We also think that there is real community spirit in a lot of the places we work, and we love to see how businesses and groups from very different backgrounds can work together on something like 12th Man.