As part of Men’s Mental Health month, staff and students took part in a spin challenge to raise funds to help two local men develop a new support group in their community. By cycling for 7 consecutive hours, willing volunteers helped raise money to support the founders of The Mulligan Club reach more men who need the opportunity to talk about their mental health.
The importance of talking to each other
The Mulligan Club was set up just 4 weeks ago by friends Dave Bell and Nathan Musselwhite. After both suffering with poor mental health, they realised talking to each other helped them and were keen to support other men to do the same.
Nathan explained the motivation for setting up the group. He said;
“We wondered how we could get other people talking about feelings, validating them and normalising conversations around them too. We wanted to provide a space for people to come and feel safe and not have any judgement. It is important for people to feel comfortable to talk, or to sit and listen, to learn and understand about mental health.
We want to keep spreading the message that it is ok to feel those things and encourage people to start talking about it. If we can affect change in ourselves and use that experience to affect a positive change in someone else, who then does the same to other people it will be a ripple effect. Being here today gives us confidence we can go out to places and talk others to raise awareness.”
A listening ear and a friendly environment
Nathan highlighted that although they are not professionals or therapists they do provide a listening ear in a friendly environment. They also point people in the right direction if they want professional help.
The club meets every Wednesday at Eckington Cricket Club at 7pm. Nathan told us that any male who wants to join the group is welcome to turn up or contact them via their Instagram account @themulligan.club to find out more.
Supporting positive mental health
Sarah Vaughan, Healthy Lifestyle Lead in the Xtra Energy team at the college organised the event to support The Mulligan Club. She was keen to raise awareness and support positive mental health amongst our male staff and students. She organised for Nathan to speak to groups of students throughout the day about his experiences and the aims of the club.
Nathan told the students:
“My main message is, it is ok not to be ok and there are people out there who want to support you. Sometimes the feelings we have are scary but there are lots of ways to go about getting support. There is always a way and you should never give up.”