Becca James reports from an awareness-raising initiative to promote the importance of good mental health…
Charlton Athletic Football Club stars stepped out before their match against Birmingham to support the club’s second Mental Health Awareness Day.
The Charlton Community Trust teamed up with Time To Change – England’s biggest programme to challenge mental health stigma and discrimination – and their biggest mental health partners, Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust and Kent and Medway NHS Trust.
Inside The Valley in South East London, the players from both teams gave their support by wearing specially designed t-shirts during their warm-up. Some lucky supporters were delighted to be the recipients of the players’ signed shirts that they threw into the crowd, before heading down the tunnel for their final preparations.
One young Charlton fan that received a signed shirt said, “I am so happy to have a signed shirt. Today is important and I have family members with mental health problems, so this day is very important and having the players support it and show that it is okay to talk about it is very good.”
Time to Change delivered a keepy-uppy competition and a non-contact boxing session outside the stadium before the game to fans. Supporters were also encouraged to use various wacky props and have their photo taken inside the Time to Change photo booth. They then supported the awareness day by tweeting the hashtag for the day of #cafctimetochange.
Further positive mental health messages were shown on the big screen throughout the fixture with the showing of the new Time to Change advert, “The Wolfpack”, on the big screen prior to kick-off.
At half-time, the Charlton Athletic Community Trust were awarded a certificate by Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust for the support that they provide for clients within the Oxleas early intervention in psychosis teams. The teams get people with mental health problems to talk about their issues and gain friends who understand them whilst playing sport and other activities.
Also in attendance at the game were 150 members of staff and service users from both Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust and Kent and Medway NHS Trust. All of these people either attend the Charlton Trust’s project or work in partnership with the Trust to deliver the programmes.
Carl Krauhaus, Head of Disability and Mental Health at The Charlton Trust, spoke about the success of the day, saying: “Our intention for the day was to raise awareness and spark positive conversation around mental health. With the help of Time to Change, Oxleas and Kent and Medway, we definitely achieved that.
“The supporters were very receptive to the initiative, which was also reflected in Sunday evening’s Charlton Live radio show. We are a club that takes our responsibility seriously and understands that we have a huge role to play in helping to not only help educate people about mental health, but to continue to challenge discrimination through the projects we run and the initiatives we undertake.”
He added, “The support of both sets of players was very important and really helped to engage supporters into the day. Also we would like to express our gratitude to the Charlton Live team who comprehensively covered the subject on their Sunday evening show.”
Jenny Taylor, Head of the Children and Young People’s Programme at Time to Change, said, “Many people that we work with say that it is the fear of the stigma that’s harder to deal with than the mental health problem itself. We always say you don’t have to be an expert to help, just the little things like sending a call or a text can help.”
She also highlighted the importance of using football to try and spread the message about Mental Health Awareness, adding, “I think football clubs, Charlton especially, are a great place to get that message out. I think people are definitely listening when it comes from different sources. You have access to a lot of people in the community, we are trying to work with a lot of men, family and parents.”