With men’s mental health awareness month coming to a close, groups around the West Midlands are continuing to support and maintain a united front on advocating for better care around the issue. Many groups are being created, and existing ones are continuing to grow, offering vital support.
Men’s mental health is especially important to Stephen Ruddick, walk leader of Men Walking and Talking Wednesfield. “The group was created in January of this year as there isn’t anything like this for men in the local area and support for mental health isn’t great,” he told WLV News. He says he aims to continue to spread awareness and grow the community group so that any man looking for support locally has a place to go with no judgement.
The organisation Men Walking and Talking was created in 2021 by Telford resident Dan Reid, who has opened up about his own mental health struggles. Its aim to bring men together in a safe space to end the stigma around men’s mental health by supporting each other. On the organisations home page he states: “I started a group running once a week in the village where I live, which has now grown to 49 walks across 21 counties.” According to the website the organisation’s groups which are spread around the country meet weekly to engage in ‘safe space conversations with likeminded people’.
There is no pressure to talk about anything you don’t want to… some will listen, some talk and conversations are varied.
Stephen Ruddick, Wednesfield group walk leader
According to the Samaritans latest statistics show 5717 individuals took their own life in 2024. The male rate was 17.1 per 100,000 compared to females which was 5.6 per 100,000. A drastic difference. With the topic of male mental health still taboo Stephen wants changes to happen. “The Government need to do more; mental health isn’t and shouldn’t be a taboo subject and people need to realise this.”
The Wednesfield walk group has above twenty participants each week and according to Stephen on seventy-five to eighty percent of walks a new man joins them on their varying routes.
