Tough Enough to Care

Tough Enough To Care has been setup to raise awareness of male mental health issues and to tackle the stigma surrounding it head on. We want men of all ages to feel comfortable talking and opening up about their emotions to those close to them, instead of bottling them up until they reach breaking point. We also want men to be able to spot when others may be struggling. There is no shame in being Tough Enough To Care. Our aim is to provide help and support to anyone affected by male mental health issues.

How does your organisation contribute to preventing suicide and supporting those affected by it?

Tough Enough To Care is aimed predominantly at men of all ages who currently fall into the trap of having to act macho instead of talking about feelings and the main aim is to prevent male suicide. Having recently lost several friends to darker times that they struggled to defeat, I feel it is now, more than ever, that we need to stand up and show people it really is ok to struggle.

Tough Enough to Care run weekly support session at 3 venues where men over 18 can meet in a friendly environment to chat. We have a peer-to-peer support hub online, and a 24-hour messaging service where we offer advice, and signpost to other charities, groups, and professionals depending on the circumstances. Our website links to local and national helplines and groups. We have social media accounts on Instagram, linked in, twitter and Facebook where we offer advice and tips for improving mental health and people have the opportunity to ask questions or chat to us directly.

During Lockdown we’ve also hosted a Friday night chat where we’ve teamed up with other charities and grassroots organisations to chat about mental health and options out there for people.

In the last 2 months we’ve also developed a Clubhouse guide to mental health which is a one-hour session we are offering for free to all grassroots sports clubs for their members to join, we have 2 sessions a week where people can learn more about mental health, how to improve their own and others and how to spot signs of mental ill health with the main aim to prevent and reduce the number of suicides attempted and completed.

What are your current priorities?

Reduce the Stigma surrounding Mental Health

Reduce the number of suicides

Fundraise to purchase a vehicle that can go out to those in trouble and to visit events where we can spread the word that it’s ok to talk and not to suffer in silence

Expand the number of meeting groups held weekly

What challenges are you currently facing?

Fundraising challenges for the Tough Truck

Reaching people in time to support them

Getting people to trust us to open up