Fans of Crystal Palace and Arsenal have now linked up for a further event which will take place on the 21 st April for the Palace away game at the Emirates.
This will be another mental health and male suicide awareness walk from Selhurst Park up to the Emirates Stadium in North London.
The fans will cover a distance of around 12 miles which will take about 4.5 to 5 hours (including stops).
The overall aim is to encourage people to talk, to find help and to ultimately improve or save lives whilst trying to improve understanding and in turn break down the stigma.
The walk itself is being undertaken as a direct result of personal experiences of many of the participants and, also because of horrendous statistics on mental health and male suicide.
Mental health impacts 1 person in 4 but is much further reaching as, it can have an impact to friends and family of sufferers which can then create a tough and challenging environment in the home, at work or in social situations.
This in turn then creates a cycle where stress and anxiety can actually grow and turn into a dangerous and desperate downward cycle.
Male suicide covers 75% of all suicides in the UK and is the biggest killer of men under 45 years of age.
It is estimated that roughly 12 men take their own life every single day which equates to around 84 a week and circa 4,500 a year which is a staggering and upsetting statistic.
Men in particular are not good at expressing their feelings and opening up but, finding the courage to talk and find help is life changing and, in some cases can be life saving.
Help is out there in many places and in many forms but, men typically bottle things up and take on all the pressure which can lead to terrible circumstances.
From the personal experience of both organisers who have opened up and sought help in the past, the belief is that talking is the most powerful tool available, it is the starting point to recovery and can in turn save lives.
The walk is the centre-piece to bring people together, it is aimed at demonstrating how powerful talking is and, as such is organised as a very social “walk and talk” event.
The true vehicle to publicise the message and encourage people to talk is through the media, podcasts, web articles or social media as it can be spread easily and reach out to many people.
Undertaking the event on a match-day with opposing fans walking together sends out a very powerful message in a world where football fans can be stereo-typed in negative ways.
Both Mental Health and Male Suicide have no colours and fans coming together prior to a game in unity is a truly positive message for the conditions described above but also football and football fans generally.
Football itself is huge and powerful, it reaches every corner of the world and therefore billions of people.
Many of these people will suffer with mental health issues, may have contemplated suicide themselves or will know somebody that has made the decision to take their own life.
A lot of people interested in football and fans that attend games generally are men under 45.
This profile alone, based on the statistics makes football a fantastic conduit to reach potentially vulnerable people.
As such, the predominantly macho image of football and football fans themselves make the perfect target audience to try and make a difference.
In the modern day and game, football is followed by people of all ages, across both sexes and spread across all cultures, countries and religions.
It is therefore one of the most inclusive vehicles in the world.As such, getting the message out using football as the mechanism to encourage people to talk and seek help through football has huge potential.
The event itself is not about raising money and is all about raising awareness. It is aimed at sending out a message to encourage people to open up, to talk and to understand that they are not alone.
To get involved or to find out more, contact Paul (@HC15OnTour).
