Mansfield Town Football in the Community are set to launch a brand new community group - ‘Active Minds’ - which aims to promote inclusion and tackle isolation through the power of sport.
The group will run for 48 weeks, every Friday at Mansfield Town Football in the Community at One Call Stadium, from 10am to 12noon. The group will be open for males aged 18 and above, specifically those suffering with issues such as low self-esteem, isolation and loneliness, depression, anxiety and other forms of mental illness.
In the UK, men remain three times as likely to take their own lives than women, whilst statistics show that males are often misdiagnosed for the most common mental health disorders including isolation, depression and low self-esteem.*
Mark Hemingray, Mansfield Town Football in the Community’s head of community, said: “Mental health carries a massive stigma but what we’ve found through working with community partners on recent pilot projects is that sport really unites people and unlocks those barriers holding people back.
“The group will carry no pressure whatsoever for people to talk about their problems, but will 100% provide a safe and secure environment for them to do so if and when they feel the need to do so.
“The suicide rate in males particularly is alarming, and when you factor in the negative pathways which depressed males can slip into as a result of depression, such as alcoholism, drug use and homelessness – there needs to be something in the community to intervene and help these males get back onto a positive path, which is what we are aiming to do through this project.”
‘Active Minds’ is designed to tackle those issues through two programmes, ‘Active Minds: Sport’ and ‘Active Minds: Chat’ – the latter of which will be geared more towards those aged sixty and above, living with Dementia.
Active Minds: Sport will be a weekly sports-based session, with participants taking part in a range of sporting activities from small-sided football matches, to coaching games designed to improve communication and confidence, as well as improve physical health.
Active Minds: Chat will be a continuation - and development of – Football in the Community’s Dementia Group and will work with those unable to take part in the more physical activities. The sessions will incorporate indoor, chair based sport, along with activities to engage the mind.
Both sessions will run simultaneously on Fridays at One Call Stadium from 10am to 12noon and are completely FREE of charge. Anyone wanting further information on either sessions or what they involve, should contact Football in the Community on 01623 656 920 or email community@mansfieldtown.net.
*Research figures obtained from the Samaritans and Mens’ Mental Health Service.
