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Middle aged men have the highest rates of suicide than any age or gender group, with men reporting feelings of isolation, embarrassment, shame and a sense of burden on others.

Now Project Rewild is working with MIND Hastings to improve the mental health of men particularly between the ages of 30-59 years.

The new campaign, called Take Action Man, aims to encouraging men to get outside, to support one another and talk more about their mental health.

The Samaritans recently published a report explaining why less-well off middle-aged men do not get the support they need. They identified that a lack of meaningful social connections, restricted help-seeking behaviour and a lack of purposeful activity were key risk factors that contributed to poor mental health.

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Project Rewild founder Luke Funnell said: “It is important to proactively engage men with a community-based approach providing accessibility, inclusivity, peer support, shared experiences and a sense of achievement.

“During research undertaken by MIND, spending time outdoors was one of the most popular choices for men in improving mental health with waking and fishing being the most popular outdoor activities.

“Take Action Man offers local men the opportunity to get outside in the town’s wonderful natural spaces, get active, learn new skills and spend time together talking, supporting and helping one another. The project aims to deliver a community based approach to supporting men’s mental health by working closely with services who support men and engaging with men in the community to identify their needs and empower them to shape the delivery of an ongoing outdoor activity men’s group.

“We are initially delivering three trial days this winter in Hastings which we hope will lead to ongoing outdoor men’s activity groups.

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“These free groups will be informal and inclusive for all men. We aim to have fun, learn and play together. It’s time for men to support one another, it’s time to talk more, it’s time to Take Action Man.”

The three activity days that have been planned are woodland bushcraft and survival on December 18, a Hastings expedition on January 8 and a chance to try sea fishing on January 29

To find out more go to www.projectrewild.co.uk/takeactionman or contact Luke at [email protected] or by calling 07557146626.

Innovative new Hastings project will help address men’s mental health issues