Charities across Sheffield have been fundraising for Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month despite major cuts to funding for mental health services.

The Movember campaign has been encouraging businesses and charities across the country to fundraise and spread awareness about men’s mental health and suicide prevention for the past 20 years. 

However the Public Health Grant, which was cut by £858 million since 2015 according to the Local Government Association, has caused a major hit to the administration of mental health services across the country. 

Sheffield City Council’s spending has been directly affected, limiting the provision of support services like therapy, counselling and physical care. 

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Jacob Sharratt, 31, Area Lead for Andy’s Man Club, a men’s suicide prevention charity, from Wakefield said: “My driving force is because it helped me so much when I first walked through those doors to help myself, and I got out of that dark situation.”

The charity provides free support groups across the country and online.

“I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for Andy’s Man Club, I want more people to be able to be open about how they feel,” said Mr Sharratt.

Thabo Mapetla, 20, is the Charity Secretary for Sheffield University Cricket Club (SUCC), and last year ran 300 km, including an Ultra-Marathon from Sheffield to Derby, as part of his fundraising effort.

For the past two years SUCC have been invited to the ‘Mo Awards’, a ceremony that hosts and celebrates the month’s top 350 fundraisers.

He said: “We’ve built such a good community within the club where people feel comfortable to rely on each other for support.”

SUCC placed fourth nationally in both 2022 and 2023, raising over 19 thousand pounds for Movember last year. 

“We all go through things and men should always feel comfortable to speak up, that’s why Movember is so important,” said Mr Mapetla.

Michael Thompson, 45, is the Founder of Falsely Accused Network, from Manchester. He operates a helpline and support group for men struggling after being falsely accused of domestic abuse.

He said: “I am determined that something good comes from the bad thing that happened to me, it’s this drive to make sure that men out there are getting the support that I needed but didn’t get.”

“I want the stigma to be broken but men need solution-based help, and we certainly need to look at more investment into mental health services for men,” he said.

According to The Men’s Health Forum, despite 80% of suicides being male the majority of people treated for depression are women, with a figure of 72%.

The years of campaigning around the city has encouraged organisations to push for improved standards of support services for men despite the financial challenges.

For support and to find out more about support hubs for men visit Andy’s Man Club, Sheffield Flourish and Falsely Accused Network. 

To learn more about the Movember campaign visit Movember. 

To donate to Sheffield University Cricket Club’s 2024 Movember effort follow this link: https://uk.movember.com/team/2399227?utm_source=qrcode&utm_medium=mo_app&utm_campaign=movember&utm_content=app_share_teamspace_qr