Walking back to happiness: Rugby men’s mental health charity founder urges men to talk more
The founder of a men’s mental health charity that started its life in the community of Houlton has urged people to talk on what is dubbed ‘Blue Monday’ - and all year round.
Dan Phillips, who lives in Houlton, founded Back and Forth Men’s Mental Health following the death of a friend as a way for men to come together to talk and share their struggles, helping to break the silence around men’s mental health.
The charity started as an informal walking group, aiming to bring people together so they could have open conversations and offer mutual support, and has grown to run walks across
Warwickshire as well as social evenings and a podcast.
Today (Monday, January 20) is dubbed by some as ‘Blue Monday’ for supposedly being the most depressing day of the year.
Dan is encouraging men to open up about their struggles, not just now but all year round.
He said: “I’ve lost a few mates over the years but I lost a close friend in April 2023, and the same thing kept coming up.
"Not talking about things - which men are notoriously bad at – burying your head in the sand, getting on with it and worrying about everybody else rather than yourself.
“I decided I wanted to do something about it. I thought I would set up a group, get blokes together and go out walking. Because when you’re out walking, you have to talk. The idea was
to just start people talking, and from that build relationships and find some common ground. Then that might get them to open up about what it is they are struggling with.”
Dan, who works for West Midlands Police, admitted he wasn’t sure anybody would be interested when they arranged their first walk at Draycote Water in October 2023.
“There were three of us, but since then it’s blown up,” he went on.
"We got charity status last year, we do walks every Saturday, we have two social nights a week on the calendar, and we do a podcast.”#
With figures suggesting that three in four people who take their own lives are men, and two in five men saying they feel low or worried on a regular basis, Dan said he feels there is
definitely a need for a group like his.
He said: “It still takes something to make some blokes come out, but once they’ve done it for the first time, they tend to come back. And we see more and more regular faces the more we do it. So it is working.
“When I started the group, I was going to try and keep it to colleagues at work. Then the more people who found out what we’re doing, the more it spread. So we do walks in Coventry, in
Rugby, we have socials in Coventry and Rugby and so on.
“We have all sorts of people come - from 18 to a guy in his 80s, all backgrounds and all walks of life. People who are retired, people who are still at work, people at school. It’s massive, and when you look at that, I think you realize how big the issue really is.”
As well as the regular scheduled walks, Dan and colleagues from Back and Forth will be hosting a talk at the Tuning Fork in Houlton on Monday followed by a walk in the area, with anyone welcome to join.
Dan said: “Urban&Civic have been brilliant and have supported everything we’re doing, so we’re looking forward to hosting the talk on Monday. But we want people to know that we’re not just here for them on Blue Monday, but all year round for a walk, talk and any other support they may need.”
For more information, visit Back and Forth - Men’s Mental Health on Facebook.