'Phenomenal' charity is helping remove stigma around men's mental health

North Somerset Talk Club is a men’s mental fitness charity set up to help prevent suicide by talking openly and honestly about their feelings.

The Bristol charity was formed in 2019 after one of the founders lost his childhood best friend to suicide, and has since gone global, with 56 clubs around the world.

Talk Club doesn’t offer counselling or therapy, instead giving men a chance to honestly talk about their mental fitness in confidence with other men in similar situations.

By asking four simple questions - How are you out of 10? What you grateful for? What are you going to do for yourself in the next 7 days? What is your checkout score? - men get the opportunity to be vulnerable about what’s bothering them in a comfortable space.

Currently, men account for around three quarters of all deaths by suicide in England and Wales according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Talk club wants to remove the stigma some men feel about their mental fitness by changing the way they talk about their health.

North Somerset Talk Club was set up in 2020 and started life meeting at the Healthy Living Centre on the Bournville estate, where access to adequate mental health support can be harder due to the severe levels of deprivation.

Now the Talk Club meets at the Hornets R.F.C club house, on Hutton Moor Road, every Thursday evening from 6.30pm to 8pm, after the club’s manager provided a space to use for free.

North Somerset Talk Club captain Steve Barnard. (Image: Steve Barnard)

Talk Club captain Steve Barnard, aged 54, says the club is 'all about talking - that way people can really open up’.

He said: "I struggled to find help after suffering with poor mental health but Talk Club was so genuine and kind to me.

"We sit in a circle, just talk to each other and listen - we’re as much about listening as we are about talking. We don’t offer advice and there’s no comparison or judgment.

"It’s even more important now after the pandemic to have an opportunity to get out of the house and talk confidently, privately and securely on what’s going on inside your head by putting things into perspective.

"We start by going around the room, each giving a score out of 10 on how you’re feeling that day, we all say what we’re grateful for because when you’re up against it you can forget these things.

"Then we say what we’re going to do in the next week, this can be walking or playing tennis as it’s important to have something for yourself. We then finish off by each giving a checkout score.

"One of the many great things about Talk Club is there’s a clear measure of your score when you came in and when you come out – over the last three months the average check-in score was 5.5 and average check-out score 7.2, this just shows it really helps to talk.

"If you're a club or business in North Somerset and you would like to support us, please donate to wetalkclub.com."

Steve said being able to measure the difference in men who have been ‘up against it’ and see the real change in them gives him ‘goose bumps'.

He added: "Men come back looking healthier and happier - it’s so inspiring and truly priceless.

"You are not alone - come and talk about it."

Talk Club hopes to expand their services this year by introducing a ‘walk and talk’ and ‘run and talk’, including a dedicated football club.

But it’s not just about helping to strengthen male mental fitness, Talk Club is as much about talking as it is about tackling loneliness.

The club also hopes to create a daytime session for men who live in the more deprived areas of Weston around the south and central council wards.

For more information about Talk Club or to donate, visit their website here.

To contact Talk Club in confidence, email hello@wetalkclub.com.

To receive help and support on suicide, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123.