Walk and Talk for Men – ‘When life gets tough, we’re here to listen’

Walk & Talk – An alarming and saddening increase in male suicide has come to light in the last few years. In 2018, there were 6,507 suicides registered in the UK, which is significantly higher than that in 2017. Three-quarters of registered deaths in 2018 were among men (4,903 deaths), which has been the case since the mid-1990s. This horrible trend is having tragic consequences for communities up and down the country. Earlier this year here in Braintree, we were the focus of national outcries for men’s mental health when Keith Flint tragically took his own life.

It is harder for men to speak about their issues, but there is a group of local men helping to break that stigma, by hosting walk & talks for men. The group which has over 600 members online has a simple mantra of ‘when life gets tough, we’re here to listen’.

CommunityAd spoke to Danny Horne who leads the walk in the neighbouring town of Wickham.

So, Danny, how long have you been involved with this brilliant group?

I’ve been part of walk&talk4men pretty much from the beginning, I saw the group on Facebook and decided to join the group as I suffer from mental health myself. I also wanted to be able to help others. I wanted to be able to talk about what I go through on a day to day basis as a mental health sufferer and help other people out and give advice to them, to become a friend to those who need it.

It’s great that as a society we are starting to talk about men’s mental health, and the group seems like a great way for men to open up in a safe space at their own pace, have you seen/felt the benefits of this yet?

I have seen great benefits from joining the group, I have been able to open up about what I have to deal with each day and have made some great friends for life, I have become amazing friends with a fellow member, Wesley Knowles, who helps me on a daily basis. He always checks up on me and is always there to listen to what I need to say and is always a person I can count on to help me through everything with great guidance and support. Also, James Mace the founder of walk&talk4men helps us all everyday with how to deal with things, he’s an amazing listener and also provides us all with the support and guidance others and myself need.

The group offered walks in lots of locations on November 17th, will this be a monthly endeavour in the future?

On November the 17th we hosted a great amount of walks. I believe it’s 7 in total, 4 in the local area, including Braintree, Halstead, Wickham Bishops and Basildon, with a further 3 outside of Essex. I host local walks myself and I hope, as an individual and a group, that we will pursue a great number of walks each month in many locations. Every suggestion of a place is always welcome by members, and we are also looking to branch out further to be able to help men across the whole country. So yes, this is just the beginning; there’s many more to come.

Christmas can be a joyous time but also a terribly lonely time for some can’t it?

Christmas can be a very joyful time but not for everyone, some people can be alone for Christmas, I myself have been in the position, due to work. I was away from my family and I happily admit it hit me hard not having the love and support on that day, but no one is ever alone, we are all here for everyone, especially around this time of year. We hope if anyone is alone this Christmas or any Christmas, or in fact anytime of the year, they can put a post up in the group and we can all help make Christmas special for everyone, also for those who are alone there are great places like the Salvation Army who provide a Christmas for all those alone and bring them together as a family.

Why should our readers consider coming along to one of the walks?

I feel everyone would love to get involved with our group and we are here for all men, regardless of age, race, sexuality or background. Come and join us and talk or even just listen in a safe non-judgemental place where we can all be a family and help and guide each other.

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