Bolton Manbassadors

Bolton Manbassadors is an award-winning** men's mental health project delivered by Bolton at Home.

It aims to:

• Raise awareness locally of the mental health issues facing men.
• Grow a network of local organisations across Bolton acting as men’s health advocates – ‘Manbassadors’ who look out for and speak with their customers.
• Help men to access the local services and support they require on issues that impact on their mental health.
• Develop a network of mens social and community activities across Bolton creating safe spaces for men to be able to talk to one another about mental health.

Following in the footsteps of the Orion Partnership ‘Manbassadors’ project in Leeds, Bolton Manbassadors are looking to take a different approach in engaging men, normalising conversations around mental health, removing the stigma, and supporting men to get the support they need.

**Bolton Manbassadors and our campaign partners Maxmedia Communications Ltd. won 'Campaign of the year' during 2022's UK Housing Awards.

There are many ways you can get involved to support the Manbassadors project- either as an organisation or an individual. Learn how on this page.

You can find your nearest Manbassador(s) using the map above. Just tap on a star to view details about each one.

We'll keep this up to date as more organisations sign up to become Manbassadors. If you'd like to get to know some of our existing Manbassadors, tap the button below.

Meet some of our Manbassadors

Interested in becoming a Manbassador (as an organisation) or pledging to support the project as an individual? Tap the tabs below to learn more.

Did you know that:

• One in six adults (over 16) are experiencing common mental health problems at any one time?
• In the UK, men are only around half as likely as women to access psychological therapies, and it’s also believed they are less likely to speak to family or friends about mental health issues?
• Every week, 125 people in the UK take their own lives?
• Three in four people who commit suicide are male?
• Suicide is the single biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK?
• The last time there was a recession in 2008, suicides increased by 10%? With the impact that Covid has had on our community’s mental health and wellbeing, we need to look out for each other.

Many of us will know of someone close to us who has suffered with their mental health. It might be you Dad, your son, your brother, your Uncle, your cousin, your friend, your teammate at work or yourself.

Men, traditionally, don’t speak out and ask for help when they need it. We want you to know it’s okay not to be okay, you are not alone and support is out there for you.

Times are tough for many people around Bolton. When things get tough, we look out for each other.

There are many ways you can get involved to support the Manbassadors project- either as an organisation or an individual. Tap the tabs below to learn more.

A Manbassador is a men’s health advocate – they look out for and speak with their customers.

The aim of the Bolton Manbassadors project is to try to tackle high rates of male suicide and mental health issues. We are reaching out to all men with a simple intervention of an informal, bite-sized support delivered on a very local level.

Whether you’re a nursey or a pub, a café or a barber, a gym, or a local takeaway – you can play your part.

We also have sports clubs from football, cricket and even wrestling clubs signed up as Manbassadors. Community groups and charitable organisations too.

If you’re a people-facing business, you can look out for them, let them know they’re not alone and raise awareness of men’s mental health issues.

The more people raising the awareness around the project, the more likely we are to reach those in need, when they need it.

If you're an organisation in Bolton, passionate about helping your customers and want to help men in the local community – we’d love to hear from you.

The Ask:

• Be an ambassador: for men’s mental health and wellbeing. Let’s get people talking, reduce the stigma and normalise the conversation around mental health.
• Look out: for signs and symptoms of poor mental health in your male customers.
• Have a chat: Just asking ‘how are you?’ and taking time to listen properly to the response can make an enormous difference.
• Hand out the leaflet: to send anyone in need of support in the right direction.
• Display the leaflet and poster: to increase awareness of the project locally.
• Connect with other local SME businesses: this is an opportunity to build an SME business Manbassador network to connect with like-minded businesses and share ideas.

The Offer/Benefits:

• Free promotional material: we’ll supply you with leaflets, posters, shop window stickers, and social media graphics – you just need to put them on show.
• Access to free training: we can support you to have confident conversations around mental health.
• Opportunity for publicity: have your business name shared on the Bolton at Home website and on Bolton Manbassadors social media pages.
• Add social value: supporting a worthy campaign will add social value to your organisation.
• Make a difference: within your community and play your part.
• Good PR: gain a caring reputation and the potential to increase repeat custom and customer loyalty!

Want to find out more? Send us an email using: boltonmanbassadors@boltonathome.org.uk or call Adam Warbrick on: 07787337474.

Individuals can pledge to support the Bolton Manbassadors project. Here's how:

Bolton Manbassadors are asking you to pledge support to the project.

Hopefully, by doing this we can raise awareness of Men’s mental health and help men to access the support that they need.

Times are tough for many people around Bolton. When things get tough, we look out for each other.

Unfortunately, statistics show that men are less likely to access the support they need. We want to change that.

If you know a man who:

• hasn't been feeling himself lately,
• feels lost with no direction,
• wants to make a change but doesn't know where to start,
• doesn't know who to talk to,
• and/or doesn't socialise as much as he used to..

..Bolton Manbassadors are here for chat. We can help them get back on track. We promote positive mental health and wellbeing in men.

The Ask (of individuals):

In signing the pledge, we would ask for your help in raising awareness around Men’s mental health and promote the Bolton Manbassadors project by:

• Following our Bolton Manbassadors Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/BoltonManbassadors.
• Sharing our posts and promoting the activities that we provide for men.
• Wearing our promotional materials and addding the social media profile picture frame to help raise awareness of the project.
• If a man needs help, sharing our contact information so we can connect them to the support they need.

You can also:

• Watch four five-minute Bolton Manbassadors videos here: www.boltonathome.org.uk/manbassadors-videos.
• Complete the 20 minute online Suicide Awareness Training at: www.zerosuicidealliance.com/suicide-awareness-training.

The Offer/Benefits (for individuals):

We will provide those who sign up to pledge to support the Bolton Manbassadors project with:

• A Manbassadors Pledge Certificate.
• A Bolton Manbassadors Pin Badge.
• A Bolton Manbassadors Pop Socket.

Important:

When signing the pledge to support Bolton Manbassadors we DO NOT expect you to offer support.

We are looking to connect men to the support and activities that are out there for them across Bolton. You can help us reach those men who wouldn’t usually access these services/activities. In playing your part you can make a difference within your local community.

#InItTogether

Sign the Manbassadors pledge here

For more information on pledging your support, send us an email using: boltonmanbassadors@boltonathome.org.uk or call Adam Warbrick on: 07787337474.

You can provide further support by volunteering as part of the Manbassadors Project:

As the project grows, there will be several ways for you to lend a helping hand as a volunteer. This could include leading new activities for men, facilitating men’s peer to peer support groups, supporting community projects, and much, much more.

Register to volunteer here

For more information on volunteering, send us an email using: boltonmanbassadors@boltonathome.org.uk or call Adam Warbrick on: 07787337474.

Businesses: why not become a sponsor of Bolton Manbassadors?

We're looking Manbassadors Sponsors to help fund the growth of the award-winning Manbassadors project. Are you:

• A business looking to add social value to your organisation?
• Looking for a local project that is making a difference across Bolton?
• Passionate about suicide prevention and promoting positive mental wellbeing amongst men?

Bolton Manbassadors would love to hear from you.

Interested? Please contact us on 07787337474 or on email boltonmanbassadors@boltonathome.org.uk for more details.

See upcoming Manbassadors events in our calendar

Here's a look at all the Manbassadors events and activities taking place this month.

Days with more than one event taking place will have an '...' icon on them. Just tap the icon and check the sidebar on the right for a list of events on that day.

You can then tap on each event for more information- including contact details, addresses, and more.

You can change the month using the drop-down box, and choose whether to view by day, week, or month using the menu in the top-right of the calendar.

Want to see the calendar in full-screen or having issues viewing it here? Click here to open the Manbassadors Events Calendar in a new tab.

Men's activities: Manbassadors in the community

We (Bolton at Home) and several of our Manbassadors deliver a number of community activities for men across Bolton.

To keep up to date with these activities, please visit our Facebook page: