Tackling the stigma of men’s mental health isn’t easy but local CIC Head In The Game are combating this, giving men between the ages of 25-55 in the local community the chance to come together and enjoy the beautiful game of football as well as talk openly about men’s mental health.
Every Thursday, the free football training takes place on the Valley Park School 3G pitches where players receive an open and welcoming atmosphere where personal issues can be raised and discussed in a safe and secure environment.
Head In The Game is supported by Kent County Council and proudly delivered alongside The Charitable Football Club. Having recently featured on BBC South East, CommunityAd caught up with Club Chairman Mark Pinkney to find out more about this wonderful initiative…
When did Head In The Game first start and who was the brainchild behind this?
Head In The Game started in April 2021 with a handful of attendees. The project was founded by Mark Pinkney, who after spending many years working professionally in the mental health support sector, noticed that there was a gap in support and provision for men between the ages of 25 – 55 to talk openly about their own mental health and general wellbeing. After successfully applying for funding through KCC’s Community Grant Scheme the project was born and is going from strength to strength by the day!
How are you able to break the stigma and actually combine the beautiful game with players who are willing to openly talk about their mental health?
One of the fundamental reasons this project exists is to ensure that men have a safe and secure environment to open up and talk. This is key to everything we do. Without the openness and honesty of everyone who attends, the project just wouldn’t work. Men open up and talk at our sessions as they know that it’s a safe and secure space where support will be given if they are having a difficult time. Alongside this, we have found that football is the perfect vehicle to enable men to come along to get physically and mentally fit.
What do you think overall can be done to fully combat and raise awareness of men’s mental health and lower the number of UK suicide rates in men?
Talking. Men need space away from the pressures of everyday life to talk. Unfortunately, far too many men take their own lives and don’t get the support that they so desperately need.
Statutory mental health services have been at full capacity for a while now, and as we come out of the pandemic, we predict that we will see further increases in the demand for support groups and projects such as ours. On a positive note, it’s been great to see so many large funders and charities identifying this need and setting up funding streams for projects to apply to directly address the lack of available statutory provision.
Since starting up the club, how many men would you say you have helped and do you have any memorable moments from your time at the club so far?
To date we have taken over 50 referrals and worked with just under 40 men during the first three months of the project. We are tremendously proud to be able to play a small part in improving their mental/physical wellbeing. In terms of memorable moments go, every week when the attendees leave our sessions with a huge smile on their face… that’s more than enough for us.
Looking ahead, do you have any major plans for expansion this year and where would you like Head In The Game to be in the next 5-10 years?
Our ambition is to have Head In The Game running weekly sessions in every Kent town. This may sound ambitious for a new project, but we have seen first-hand the need for this type of early intervention mental health support. We started sessions in Maidstone in July and have already started discussions with funders about how we can expand the project to cover a wider demographic and geographic area.