Oswestry Community Action and Designs in Mind collaborate on Let’s Talk and Create for Men’s Mental Health

Let’s Talk and Create for Men’s Mental Health is a joint project between Oswestry-based charity Oswestry Community Action (Qube) and social enterprise Designs in Mind commissioned by Staffordshire and Shropshire Community Foundation and the Midlands Partnership Foundation Trust.

The project is part of the Shropshire Suicide Prevention Strategy 2023-2026, to action to reduce suicide and promote a County that is suicide aware, with the right resources and offers in the right places at the right time to support anyone impacted by suicide.

This project offers a two-pronged approach to fully tackle all areas of the strategy. As such, Designs in Mind have committed to running 12 monthly “Men Who Make Workshops”, which started at the end of March 2025. These workshops aim to improve general wellbeing, confidence and social isolation, and will have occasional presence from a Community Mental Health Champion.

In the meantime, Oswestry Community Action will be training 10 Community Mental Health Champions over 12 months, with regular check-ins and development and an aim to improve wellbeing, awareness of mental health, and knowledge of signposting opportunities.

Adam who is the Community Mental Health Champion Coordinator at Oswestry Community Action says; “Working on this project is a pleasure for me as Mental Health is a subject I am hugely passionate about. Qube need volunteers to help provide support and promote positive mental health within the community. If you can offer a safe, supportive environment for individuals to talk about their mental health, plus work towards reducing the stigma around mental health and guide them to seek the appropriate mental health resources, we want to hear from you. Through promoting more awareness and conversation about mental health and suicide in our communities, we hope to tackle stigma and to encourage anyone struggling with or impacted by mental health and suicide to reach out as early as possible; there are people who are ready and able to listen and help.”

If you are interested in attending the Men Who Make Workshops, contact Designs in Mind on 01691 655140 or email enquiries@designsinmind.co.uk

If you are interested in training as a Community Mental Health Champion, please contact Qube on 01691 656882 or email info@qube-oca.org.uk