Tag Archive for: Men’s Mental Health

International Men’s Day 2022 – Karl’s Blog

As part of International Men’s Day 2022, we’re shining the spotlight on some of the issues affecting men and boys and showing that a career in the charity and care sector is something men can aspire to.

Karl began receiving support from Richmond Fellowship in 2016 after being out of work for many years.

Since 2019 he’s worked as a Peer Support Coordinator at our Kirklees Employment service in Yorkshire. Karl explains how taking up learning and development opportunities has helped him get where he is today.

“With the supportive guidance of my Employment Advisor, I began the first tentative steps in my recovery journey. I attended several courses organized by Richmond Fellowship, specifically designed to help me rebuild my confidence, remain well and develop the practical skills to help me attain either voluntary or paid employment.

Witnessing the inspirational ways in which volunteers co-facilitated these groups alongside full-time members of staff, led me to enquire about the voluntary opportunities available at Richmond Fellowship. After completing the application process, I began my volunteer role, which involved assisting people we support with a basic IT course. I went on to volunteer on other courses and this culminated in my enrolment on the Level 2 accredited volunteer training course, where   I developed a range of new skills and improved existing ones. I found this to be an extremely rewarding and eye-opening experience.

Not long after this, my Peer Support Coordinator told me that she was going on maternity leave and, with her encouragement, I was able to draw on my newly awakened sense of self-worth and my positive experiences as a volunteer to apply for her post. Much to my surprise and excitement, I was offered the job.

I have found my role as Peer Support Coordinator to be a thoroughly enjoyable, enriching, and positive experience. I look forward to going to work every day and I also have the privilege of helping other people (both people using our services and volunteers) on their own individual recovery journeys.

Without meaning to sound overly dramatic, Richmond Fellowship and the services it provides has transformed my life completely and enabled me to leave my debilitating mental health issues in the past”.

Throughout his time as Peer Support Coordinator, Karl has completed several training and development courses including Train the Trainer, Recruitment and Selection, Suicide Intervention and the Deliver and Assessing course, which will enable him to run the accredited volunteer training.

As well as taking part in many of the courses himself, Karl also continues to work hard to look at new ways of involving the people we support, through improving existing training courses and creating new ones to meet people’s individual needs and goals.

Inspired to work for us? Check out our latest vacancies on our online jobs portal today.

If you’re a man struggling with your mental health or experiencing domestic abuse, please see our need urgent help page to signpost you to the correct services.

Richmond Fellowship is a national mental health charity and we welcome donations and fundraising to help support our frontline services. Click here to fundraise or donate to us today!

International Men’s Day 2022 – John’s Blog

As part of International Men’s Day 2022, we’re shining the spotlight on some of the issues affecting men and boys and showing that a career in the charity and care sector is something men can aspire to.

As one of the largest mental health charities in England, people we support often come to work for us themselves. Lived experience is something we’re passionate about as an organisation.

John, an Employment Advisor at our Cambridgeshire Employment service tells us about his journey from a person we support, to his current role in our charity.

“Like everyone, we all have a story to tell, something that shapes us into who we are today. My story is a long one so I will try and make this as concise as possible.

I am a 48-year-old male. I would say I first experienced mental ill health in my early to mid-teens. I can say now that I didn’t fully acknowledge my wellbeing or respect the connection to my physical health as I was growing up but that was the attitude and culture of the day at the time.

I had a pessimistic attitude. I had a breakdown in February 2012 due to work and I made the decision to leave my employment the following month. My GP referred me to Richmond Fellowship straight away and I got to speak to an Employment Advisor quickly. I was receiving support from another mental health charity at the same time.

The support I received from Richmond Fellowship was exactly what I needed. That holistic approach to my recovery was key. I was also getting conflicting advice from the other charity regarding my employment situation, and I didn’t feel that they really helped with my mental health, not the way Richmond Fellowship did.

I noticed a vacancy for an Employment Advisor, while I was accessing the service and was supported to apply for the role I am doing today.

I was now embedded in a team where there were no issues between colleagues, and everyone wanted me to succeed and took the time to help me learn my job. I quickly realised that my attitude was changing from pessimistic to optimistic.

My job is to support individuals to find work or stay in their job but imbedded in that support is advice and guidance on maintaining and improving their mental health. I get to make their recovery a reality!

There are various figures out there. Basically men are three times more likely than women to take/end their life.

As a society we are slowly moving in the right direction, getting men to open up and talk about their mental health, moving away from the macho ‘men don’t cry’ and ‘man up’ culture. Having man caves, Men’s Sheds, Andy’s Man Club and other smaller charities are an excellent opportunity for men to talk”.

Inspired to work for us? Check out our latest vacancies on our online jobs portal today.

If you’re a man struggling with your mental health or experiencing domestic abuse, please see our need urgent help page to signpost you to the correct services.

Richmond Fellowship is a national mental health charity and we welcome donations and fundraising to help support our frontline services. Click here to fundraise or donate to us today!

International Men’s Day 2022 – How we’re recognising it

Today is International Men’s Day.

The day looks to highlight some of the issues affecting men and boys in the UK and around the world.

This includes:

  • The high rate of male suicide (suicide remains the biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK)
  • Male victims and survivors of domestic abuse and violence (1 in 6 to 7 men experience a form of domestic abuse in their lifetime)
  • Highlighting positive male role models

One of the areas the day also looks to shine the spotlight on is sectors and workplaces where men can be under-represented.

At Richmond Fellowship, less than 25% of those in our workforce are men. As one of the leading mental health charities in England we’re aware of how important it is to have a diverse workforce across our organisation and we must do more to ensure we reflect society as a whole.

A career in social care or the charity sector is something men can aspire to. Across today on our social media, we’ll be sharing stories from two men, Karl and John who used Richmond Fellowship services and now work in frontline roles to inspire others on their recovery journeys.

Robert Templeton, Director of Operations at Richmond Fellowship previously worked as a social worker himself. Robert says:

“I started my career as a social worker. It is one of the most rewarding jobs I’ve done. The fact you’re able to support some of the most vulnerable in society at the most challenging points in their lives is something that always stays with me. I’d urge any man who thinks a career in the mental health sector isn’t for them to read our inspiring staff blogs from today – as you too, can really make a difference.

We are aware of the alarming rate of men taking their own lives. Suicide in men remains the biggest killer under the age of 45. This is something that must be tackled as priority in society, and we must make sure mental health services are addressing this issue head on.

As an organisation, we are also aware of the impact domestic abuse has on male survivors and we have men with lived experience of this within our staff teams and the people we support. There are dedicated charities and partners we signpost to and work with, to ensure those men most at risk receive the tailored support they need.

International Men’s Day is a great platform for us to talk about these important issues”.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @rfmentalhealth.

Inspired to work for us? Check out our latest vacancies on our online jobs portal today.

If you’re a man struggling with your mental health or experiencing domestic abuse, please see our need urgent help page to signpost you to the correct services.

Richmond Fellowship is a national mental health charity and we welcome donations and fundraising to help support our frontline services. Click here to fundraise or donate to us today!

International Men’s Day: Men in the frontline social care sector

Today is International Men’s Day. The day highlights some of the issues men and boys face in society. It also looks to promote jobs and sectors which men traditionally haven’t chosen for careers.

A report in 2019 published by The Guardian highlighted that only 18% of people working in social care are male. As a charity that works in the social care sector, across Richmond Fellowship, less than 30% of those working in front line roles are men. Whilst this may be better than others in the sector, as an organisation we still want to improve on this statistic. As the Guardian also said, social care ‘needs to change the public’s perception that a career in care is only for women’.

In the last month, the UK government launched a nationwide recruitment campaign to encourage more people to join the adult social care sector, so the conversations around the subject couldn’t be more timely.

To mark Men’s Day 2021 we hear from Matt, our Communications and Marketing Officer who previously worked as a front line member of staff in one of our services about how he finds working in a charity rewarding and how, as a man, you can make a real difference to people’s lives if you choose a career in the social care sector.

“As someone who’s been a person we support, worked in a service in a frontline role as a Community Link Worker and now work in our central services team as Marketing and Communications Officer I’ve been at all the touching points of our charity.

I’ve also met some incredibly inspiring men along the way. John, who I spoke to as part of our Radio Sparky podcast in January this year is one of those. He was also a person we support before he became an Employment Advisor. He uses his lived experience to support others and finds his role as a frontline member of staff very rewarding – we’ll be hearing more from John as part of our International Men’s Day social media campaign.”

“I would recommend Richmond Fellowship as a good place to work. It’s got a good work-life balance for me. One of the first things we did when I first started at Richmond Fellowship was take my daughter horse riding lessons” – John, Employment Advisor, Cambridgeshire Employment service.

“I personally came to Richmond Fellowship as a person we support, after experiencing bullying at work and domestic abuse by an ex-girlfriend and never considered working for the organisation. The thought never crossed my mind, until one day I was told about a vacancy in a service as a Community Link Worker. I came into my final Employment session with my Advisor, Anna in Cambridge and I said I’d applied for a job as a Community Link Worker at Richmond Fellowship. She was over the moon and 2 weeks later I went for the interview and was lucky enough to secure the role.

When I joined the Supported Housing service in Sudbury, Suffolk there were only 2 male members of staff out of a team of 8, myself and the Service Manager. When the Service Manager moved on, I became the only male member of staff. It then dawned on me, why do so few men apply or want a career in frontline services – not just within Richmond Fellowship but across the whole sector?

Our frontline roles such as Recovery Workers, Administrators, Employment Advisors and Community Link Workers are so rewarding, the difference you can make to people’s lives and helping the people we support along their recovery journeys is so inspiring. I know… I’ve done it.

I think that diversity across every part of an organisation or charity is vital. It’s important we break down boundaries to encourage more men to work in roles within sectors where they’re underrepresented just as it’s important that support is there for women to do the same. You need a diverse workforce and talent across all levels of an organisation to make it flourish.

I’m proud to work for a charity that has open and honest conversations about this, and there are ways we can raise issues at senior level through Listening Lunches, but the onus is on all of us, whoever we are, whatever our job role, to make change happen.

If you’re a man who’s never considered a job in the charity or care sector, it really is a great place to work. The roles can sometimes be challenging, but the feeling that you get from supporting people is incredibly rewarding. I never thought that I’d be where I am now 10 years ago and Richmond Fellowship has played an incredibly important part in my career progression, both personally and professionally”.

Inspired? Check out our vacancies page today and support us with Making Recovery Reality!

Challenging stigma during Men’s Health Week

Discussing mental health

Men’s mental health is a key area of campaigning for organisations like Richmond Fellowship.

Research * shows a great disparity in the ways men and women approach mental ill health or dealing with a mental health crisis with women more likely to turn to others for help or access services from their GP.

For Men’s Health Week we’re drawing attention to men who live with mental health problems.

Read more

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