International Men’s Day 2022
Share This Post
This year, International Men’s Day is held on Saturday 19th November 2022.
International Men’s Day aims to raise awareness about mental health issues in men, as well as other health and societal issues, by encouraging men to open up and communicate with others.
The UK themes for the Day which are used every year and help maximise participation are:
- Making a positive difference to the wellbeing and lives of men and boys
- Promoting a positive conversation about men, manhood and masculinity
- Raising awareness and/or funds for charities supporting men and boys’ wellbeing
David Dunwell, Chief Executive Officer of Fleetwood Town Community Trust explains, “It goes without saying that mental health and wellbeing is important for all, regardless off gender. Though we also know that there are a number of harrowing figures associates with mental health of men due to a historic culture of men not speaking out. At Fleetwood Town Community Trust we run a number of amazing projects working with groups of men and I am really proud of the team that deliver them for the impact that they make. We hope to continue to grow this provision to support more men locally and contribute towards more local people having access to the support that they need.”
These themes are also designed to help more organisations and people consider what action they can take by addressing some of the issues that affect Men and Boys such as:
- The high male suicide rate
- The challenges faced by boys and men at all stages of education and work including attainment, re-training, redundancy and unemployment
- Men’s health, shorter life expectancy and workplace deaths – plus the health impact of Covid-19
- The challenges faced by the most marginalised men and boys in society (for instance, homeless men, boys in care and the high rate of male deaths in custody)
- Male victims of violence, including sexual violence
- The challenges faced by men as parents, particularly new fathers and separated fathers
- Male victims and survivors of sexual abuse, rape, sexual exploitation, domestic abuse, forced marriage, honour-based crime, stalking and slavery
- The negative portrayal of men, boys and fathers
Fleetwood Town Community Trust continue to provide a range of health and wellbeing initiatives, with the staff recently completing Mental Health Awareness training to support community groups and individuals that we work with across the district.
The Trust is committed to increasing awareness towards mental health and so by delivering the weekly “Talking Men” project, in addition, the Trust also supports School children through Healthy Heads and Headstart projects, providing children with strategies to build inner resilience to overcome their personal setbacks. Headstart project lead, Rachel Walker added, “The Headstart project aims to build resilience and improve mental wellbeing in Year 6 and Year 7 children through 1-2-1 support and class workshops by focusing on mental health topics such as anxiety, depression and building positive relationships. This will enhance use of coping strategies to ensure the children can self-manage effectively when faced with challenges in life. This programme specifically focuses on ensuring that their transition to secondary school is as smooth as possible, so these young people get the best opportunities to this new change in their lives.”
