Play Your Part: Suicide Prevention
Last year we unfortunately lost one of our classmates, Scott Carrigan. Scott was a very close friend to all of us and losing him has been hard on the group. He was a bubbly and outgoing character and the last person you would ever expect to be struggling with mental ill health.
Losing Scott has given us a deeper insight into the struggles that men face and the difficulties they may have when asking for help. That’s why this event was so important, to raise mental health awareness amongst men in the local community and highlight the various avenues and options that are available.
With Men Matter Scotland (our main charity partner) kindly donating kits for the teams, the game was set. We had a 60-minute football match comprised of men from the local community who have all been touched by the struggles of mental health and each team had a coach trained as a mental health practitioner, on hand to offer “team talks”.
Losing Scott has given us a deeper insight into the struggles that men face and the difficulties they may have when asking for help.
The Co-Operative Community Fund Project provided us with snacks, drinks, teas and coffees. We also had face painting for children and a raffle with some luxury prizes, including signed football jerseys, an afternoon tea for 2 and a pair of East Kilbride F.C. season tickets – there was something for everyone.
We believe that events of this nature, which provide access to mental health support, can play a huge part in displaying the avenues that are available to people. Today, no one should suffer in silence. We understand that mental ill health can be affected by many factors in life, some of which are hard to control or even understand. The idea of this charity match was fundamentally, to provide a space in which these organisations could be at the forefront to the public.
Huge thanks to Amy, Jack and Sarah for organising the Play Your Part charity match alongside their friends and colleagues, and for sharing their experience there. Thank you also for inviting us along. Penumbra peer colleague, Colin, had a brilliant day.
Find out how you can support us: penumbra.org.uk/fundraising
