Mental Health Care For Men: The Proper Blokes Club
Scott, founder of The Proper Blokes Club and local SE1 resident contacted us on Instagram bringing his mission to our attention; to break the stigma of men’s mental health and start talking openly about it.
We felt very inspired by what Scott is doing in the community and therefore wanted to share his very personal story with you today, marking World Mental Health Day 2021.
What is The Proper Blokes Club?
Scott: The Proper Blokes Club is a safe space for men to be open and honest in how they feel. This is done in a Walk and Talk setting in local communities avoiding the awkwardness of sitting round in circles that don’t work for everyone.
Scott, Founder of Proper Blokes Club
During the first lock down in 2020 I started a group all on my own as a Facebook group and I would post videos of me walking and talking.
Tells us about yourself and your story behind starting the club.
Scott: The reason I set up this group started 9 years ago with the birth of my eldest daughter, but I didn’t know it yet!
It took me 6/7 years and another failed relationship with two children involved, being in and out of court trying to see my daughters to I realise the emotional and mental strain it had taken on me and that I need to change things before I became a statistic.
94 boys and men take their own life each week.
During the first lock down in 2020 I started a group all on my own as a Facebook group and I would post videos of me walking and talking. When we had a break in the lockdowns I put it out there onto a local Facebook page to see if any lads wanted to meet up with me. On that first meeting, only 1 lad turned up but we were out waling for 6+ hours chatting away, then the following week 2 more turned up and it grew organically. We are now to the point we are in 4 locations, Southwark, Greenwich, Woolwich and Wallington.
We are looking at making it a community interest company and I’d like to go full time with funding so we can go into each borough of London.
How people can support you?
On World Mental Health Day I will be walking a Marathon and raising funds to help support the growth and exposure in what we do.
You can donate via my Go Fund Me page.
When and How people can join The Proper Blokes Club?
Scott: People can join by checking out are social media pages including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Find more information on our Website.
You can also find us on Youtube where we take you along with us on a walk.
We hope this helps Scott to spread the awareness of his mission and for other men in the community who may want access to his support group.
Please do reach out to The Proper Blokes Club and join their community.
