🚨📢 Exciting News!
We're delighted to announce that Mentell will be supporting Walking Away as our official charity partner
Working alongside Oldham Athletic Community Trust, Mentell will deliver their CPD-accredited Listening Without Judgement training across Oldham, helping us create a lasting legacy from this challenge long after the final mile has been walked.
What makes this partnership so special is the commitment Mentell have made to our community.
The Walking Away team has committed to walking a minimum of 250 miles between Oldham Athletic fixtures. In return, Mentell has committed to training one Listening Champion for every mile completed.
That means that by the end of the challenge, at least 250 people from across Oldham will have received professional training designed to help them support those around them through difficult mental health conversations.
We think that's an incredible commitment. Too often, when we talk about mental health, the focus is on what happens when somebody reaches crisis point. But real change starts much earlier than that. It starts with a friend noticing something isn't quite right. A colleague checking in. A family member taking the time to listen.
That's exactly what this initiative is designed to encourage. What makes it even more powerful is that Mentell's experience shows that each Listening Champion will go on to support an average of three people every year through challenging mental health conversations.
So whilst Walking Away may be a 250-mile challenge on paper, the impact could stretch much further.
Those 250 Listening Champions could support around 750 people every single year. Not through formal therapy or clinical intervention, but through something far more accessible: genuine human connection, understanding and the confidence to listen without judgement.
Male suicide remains the leading cause of death for men under 50 in the UK. Here in the North West, we continue to experience some of the highest suicide rates in England. If we're serious about changing that, we need more people who feel equipped to start conversations and support those around them before they ever reach crisis point.
That's why we're so excited about this partnership.
Together with Mentell and Oldham Athletic Community Trust, we're not just raising awareness. We're helping create a network of people across our town who are ready to listen when it matters most.
A huge thank you to everyone at Mentell for believing in the vision behind Walking Away and for making such a significant commitment to the people of Oldham.
The miles will eventually come to an end.
The impact hopefully won't.
#WalkingAway #MensMentalHealth #Oldham #MentalHealthMatters #oafc