Supporting male carers this Men’s Health Week

Men’s Health Week 13th-19th June 2022

For Men’s Health Week our Serious Mental Illness Carers Project Team, James and Richard, write on where male carers can receive support locally.

Men’s Health Week 2022 is an opportunity to raise awareness of men’s health issues, both physical and mental. Here we have pulled together some information about support available to men in East Sussex to look after their mental health:

The national mental health charity Mind has a Men’s Mental Health Project for men living in Hastings who are aged 30-59 years. The project supports men by delivering purposeful activities that encourage them to have conversations about mental health and create meaningful social connections. It also identifies and addresses gaps in support for men, enables men to have a voice in how services are developed and delivered, and addresses the stigma associated with men’s mental health. Visit the website for more information, contact the Project Coordinator, Hannah Richards, on 07510 927978 or hannah.richards@mindcharity.co.uk.

Man Kind, a community interest company based in Eastbourne, offers mental health support to men in East Sussex at their support groups. One group meets face-to-face at The Old Bank in Hampden Park, Eastbourne, once a month. The other meets every Wednesday on Zoom at 6:30pm-8:30pm. For more information check out their website, email them at info@mankindcic.co.uk. Or give them a call on 07793 431665.

It can be good for men’s mental health to take part in physical activities outdoors with other people. There are a number of projects in the county that encourage just that:

Wellbeing In Nature is a mental health project by Railway Land Wildlife Trust in Lewes that brings people together to walk and talk on Railway Land. There are two wellbeing walks a week, on a Wednesday and Friday, meeting outside the Linklater at 11am. Sometimes an expert volunteer joins the walk to talk about the birds, fauna, and flora to be found there. Call Ellie Moulton, Wellbeing Project Coordinator, for more information on 07529 223702 or email wellbeing@railwaylandproject.org., or visit the website. 

Likewise, Mental Health Mates brings people with mental health issues together to walk and talk. Their groups are for people in Crowborough, Rye and Brighton. They also meet online. For more information and to sign up, visit their website or email hello@mentalhealthmates.co.uk.

For men who prefer to lead their own walks or walk alone, Mind has published a collection of one, two and three mile nature walk maps in East Sussex called 123 Walks, details can be found here.

Or you could get stuck into some mindful gardening in Hastings with the Growing Communities wellbeing gardening group by Project Rewild. It meets on Thursdays 10:30am-1:30pm in an allotment in Hastings, and supports people with anxiety and depression by using permaculture and mindfulness, and helps towards building self-confidence and self-esteem. It’s free for people seeking work and claiming Universal Credit. For more information email Polly Palmer at polly@projectrewild.co.uk or visit their website.

When the weather is not so kind, or if you prefer indoor activities, you could try a Men’s Shed group. Men’s Sheds are community spaces for men to meet up, chat and make things, much like some men do in a garden shed, but in a group environment that reduces loneliness and isolation. There are Sheds in Eastbourne, Hastings, Uckfield, and Heathfield plus more in development across the county. Find your nearest one on the Men’s Shed Association website.

If art and photography is more your thing, you could contact Recovery Partners to ask about their projects primarily for people with mental health problems in Hastings and Eastbourne. The HEart Matters Project is a free online arts and mental health peer support project for people aged 60 and over. People aged 45-60 (and possibly younger) may be able to access the project, depending on their needs. It consists of 1-hour workshops over 8 weeks, plus mental health peer support and one-to-one sessions. A Different View photography course is a free professionally-facilitated photography course for people aged 18 and over who have a severe mental illness. Priority is given to people in the Hastings and Eastbourne areas, but if there are spaces, people from outside of those areas might also be offered a place. At the end of the course there are online and real-space exhibitions, and an opportunity to publish zines. For more information, visit the website. To apply or register interest, contact Anthony Stevens on 07826 094533 or email a.stevens@recovery-partners.org.uk.

Arts on Prescription, a local not-for-profit organization, also runs creative workshops for people with mental health problems, mainly aged 18 and older in Hastings and surrounding areas. Its creative activities, reminiscence and confidence building workshops are designed to enhance mental health, wellbeing and promote social engagement. For more details visit their website, call 07966 442281 or email info@artsonprescription.org.

If you are a male carer who looks after someone with mental health problems, or you look after a man with mental health problems, you could register with Care for the Carers for information, support and services by calling us on 01323 738390 or emailing us at info@cftc.org.uk.

If the person you care for has a severe mental illness you may be eligible for additional support from our Mental Health Project, including online and face-to-face support groups and activities. Contact us and ask for a referral to James or Richard in the Mental Health Project.