A mental health group has secured thousands of pounds to support men dealing with mental illness.

Men’s Mental Health Swindon has been awarded two grants totalling £13,600 to run a campaign highlighting the link between mental health and physical activity and to set up a virtual training programme for men who need help with issues like stress, relationships and body image.

Co-founder Alex Pollock said: “We’re thrilled to have secured these two grants, as it’s the first time since launching last May that we’ve had any formal finances to activate campaigns to benefit the local community.

“These campaigns and programmes have always been of interest to us. We listened to the Swindon community from early on in our existence and have always committed to being innovating and creative in our approach, and always making our activities Swindon-centric, but working alongside national partners.

“Whilst the pandemic wasn’t the only reasoning for us wanting to launch these programmes, these grants have come at an ideal time where we feel the people of Swindon need as much support as we can possibly provide.”

A £5,500 grant from Wiltshire & Swindon Sport will be used to create a video series featuring local men and highlighting the correlations between mental health and physical activity.

“From a young age, we’re taught the importance of exercise to our physical fitness, but education doesn’t go as deep as the impact on our mental wellbeing,” Alex said.

“We briefed Ottr Works to produce the videos and they’ll feature the likes of James Threlfall MBE, Luke Watkins, and members of STFC’s Community Foundation Mental Health Team.

“We started filming last week, and hope to launch the series via our Facebook page in early November. The videos will not only highlight the correlations between physical and mental wellbeing but also how local Swindon residents can get involved in the sports and groups themselves.”

The National Lottery Community Fund provided £8,100 to develop a virtual training programme for men who feel they need support in certain aspects of life.

The programme will be video-based, and open initially to 100 local men, covering different subjects and providing participants with tools and knowledge to manage their mental fitness.

It is set to launch in January.

Alex added: “We’re also enlisting the support of IPSUM for anyone who we feel needs further support, and definitely see our community interest company as the bridge between men struggling and not accessing support, to actually seeking help and have had great success in this previously.”

“Men’s Mental Health - Swindon is blessed to have an experienced steering group volunteering their time to help make these kinds of projects a reality. Without it, we wouldn’t have made the levels of progress we have, particularly this year.”

Visit facebook.com/mmhSwindon.