A MEN mental health charity is organizing a five-day walk through North East football clubs in memory of a Darlington teenager who died last year.
The event is organized by ManHealth, based in Shildon, County Durham, to get people talking about mental health.
The March for Mental Health will be dedicated to Harvey McWilliams, 18, of Darlington, who died in December.
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The young footballer, who had played for the Darlington All-stars, Blackwell Rangers, Darlington FC Academy and, more recently, Exeter Panthers AFC, was also a passionate Sunderland fan.
The 130-mile trek will take the team from Bedlington to Middlesbrough, through 17 football grounds including Sunderland, Hartlepool, Spennymoor Town, Bishop Auckland, Shildon FC and Darlington.
Paul Bannister, who founded the charity, which offers peer support groups in County Durham and Darlington, hopes to raise £10,000 while also getting people talking about mental health.
He said: “We are walking around the area so hopefully we can create a lot of awareness.
“We are well aware that there is a true public health emergency with mental health. There are too many men dying by suicide. There is a lack of services for men who need those services.
“We need to raise awareness, but the services also need to be there when people need them.
“We’re still seeing it take 16, 17 weeks to access professional services, which is not good in a crisis.
“The pandemic has triggered a time bomb in mental health.”
He added: “It’s a really tough challenge. We have guys using the registered groups, but we want as many people as possible to join, including women and children.”
“Right now we have about five or six people doing everything, but people can come together just for a day or part of a day.”
Michael McWilliams, Harvey’s father, who has been involved with the charity for around three years, will take part.
He said: “I was completely overwhelmed when they dedicated the walk to Harvey. For them to do that really means a lot. If we can raise awareness to prevent one single family from going through what we’re going through, we’ll have done our job.”
“He was my beautiful boy. He was always smiling. He was a very caring young man and an inspiration to people. He always had that smile on his face.”
Mr McWilliams started running one of the charity’s peer support groups after looking to himself for help.
He said: “Mental health is really important right now. For me it has always been about raising awareness. That’s the main thing: spread the word.
“I needed help and I found the group, not only because it was a group of men, but I needed something. I related to a lot of people there. I received a lot of help, so I wanted to give something back.”
“A lot of men don’t talk. When you’re down, you might feel like you’re the only one. But when you tell people in the group how you feel, someone will say ‘that happened to me,’ and then someone else will say the same thing. Everyone can You can talk as much as you can.
“People are very depressed when they go there for the first time, but going to a group can help you get out of a bad place.”
He added: “Just talk, check in with your peers, ask a friend how they’re doing. Try to get people talking because things are bad in the Northeast.”
The event takes place from April 13 to 18. For full route details and information on how to participate, visit www.manhealth.enthuse.com.
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