Newcastle Building Society partners with Newcastle United Foundation to tackle men’s mental health

To mark Mental Health Awareness Week and encourage open conversations about men’s mental health among its colleagues, Newcastle Building Society has signed up to become a business champion of Newcastle United Foundation’s Be A Game Changer initiative.

Be A Game Changer is Newcastle United Foundation’s mental health awareness campaign that uses the topic of football to “encourage everyone to talk openly about mental health”. The initiative provides a range of free programmes and activities to help people in the region with their mental health, by helping them to talk to others about their experiences.

By becoming a champion of the scheme, all of Newcastle Building Society’s 1,300 colleagues across the North East, Cumbria and North Yorkshire will have access to the campaign’s mental health support and resources.

Colleagues at the Society will also benefit from a bespoke package of support including wellbeing workshops, as well as some exclusive opportunities to get active and start talking more openly about their mental health.

This strengthens the existing support provided to Society colleagues through regular initiatives and an active network of mental health champions.

Stuart Miller, chief customer officer at Newcastle Building Society, joined the Society’s team of mental health champions at St James’ Park to help launch the partnership. He said: “The topic of mental health isn’t always easy to approach, especially for men.

“Our partnership with Newcastle United Foundation, including support for their amazing new home, NUCASTLE powered by Newcastle Building Society, gives us the opportunity to positively influence the lives of people right across our region.”

Thomas Graham, health and wellbeing project coordinator at Newcastle United Foundation, added: “We know that poor mental wellbeing is common and one in four of us will experience a mental health problem every year.

“To put that into perspective, that’s an average of 12,989 supporters at any given Newcastle United home game who may be struggling.

“Be A Game Changer encourages everyone in the North East, and particularly men, to start talking about mental health and reduces the stigma around asking for support, whether that’s from a friend, a GP, or colleague at work. It’s crucial that we all treat our mental health just like we would our physical health.”