Suffolk New College teamed up with the Suffolk FA to talk about mental health issues as part of an ongoing campaign to support young men’s wellbeing.
The event was held at Suffolk New College, where students took part in a silent football tournament.
The idea behind this was to promote the fact that silence is never the way forward when it comes to overcoming mental health issues.
After the tournament, the 60 participants – who are all on sports courses at the college – were given an informative talk by organisers of a campaign called 12th Man who discussed ways of seeking help and gaining support.
Kirsty Smith from the Suffolk FA came up with the idea for the day. Kirsty said: “We’ve worked with Suffolk New College on various projects in the past and this year the focus is mental health. We want to change the stigma around it. The event was a huge success.”
Aidan Loweman, 16, from Ipswich also helped co-ordinate the day. Aidan said: “I got involved as it’s a good cause and mental health isn’t spoken about enough.”
Nick Little is the founder of 12th Man – a campaign that supports male mental health in the county and country. Nick said: “Our aim is to increase daily dialogue (in terms of mental health). It was really good to come to Suffolk New College. The only way to change the future is to get young people involved.”
