Monday 15th May marks the start of Mental Health Awareness Week, an annual campaign which we lend our full support to each year.

Through the work of the Derby County Community Trust, there are several local programmes designed to offer wellbeing support.

Team Talk is the Trust’s men’s mental health project, which runs weekly sessions across Derby. The drop-in hubs, which run at Pride Park Stadium, in the city centre and in partnership with a local church, are designed to provide a safe space for males to talk openly in a relaxed and social environment.

You can find out more about Team Talk sessions here.

Dad’s Space is the newest extension of the above project, delivered in partnership with Connected Perinatal Support. The sessions mirror the social set up of Team Talk, with a focus on supporting dads and dads-to-be with any concerns in a welcoming environment.

You can find out more about Dad’s Space sessions here.

Tackle It is a wellbeing project specifically for young males, aged 12-25, which builds on the work delivered in schools by the Community Trust. Meeting weekly, the youth hub provides participants with a space to catch up, chat through any worries, and also give back to the community through social action projects which are chosen by those on the programme.

The hub runs each Monday (12-17 year olds) and each Tuesday (17-25 year olds) from Derwent Youth Centre. You can find out more here.

GREAT Girls offers girls-only sessions which mirror the Tackle It offer for 11-16 year olds. The weekly hubs provide space for teenagers who may be struggling with their wellbeing to come together and be supported by their peers, working to initiate projects to impact heir local community and grow self-esteem and confidence.

The Girls hub also runs at Derwent Youth Centre each Tuesday. You can find out more here.

Beyond social hubs, the Community Trust also deliver football sessions for those living with diagnosed mental health conditions through the Get Set to Go initiative, which runs weekly from Willows Sports Centre. 

In schools, the Resilient Rammie and Winning Minds frameworks support primary-aged children through key milestones, including SATs and transitioning from primary to secondary schools.

DCFC Women also has its own committed wellbeing initiative - the Ewe Matter group. The aim is to ensure the club is an open and safe space for everyone to talk about any issues they may have. 

It provides players, coaches and parents with a place to raise concerns and to help them access further professional support where appropriate, and signposts players and coaches to relevant courses and CPD so that problems can be recognised earlier and support can be given.

This year, we have also joined forced with the Derbyshire FA to emphasise their wellbeing offer, which supports all its grassroots clubs as well as coaches and officials.

You can find out more about how they offer support here.

We are fully committed to support Mental Health Awareness Week across all areas of the football club and encourage fans to look into all of the programmes outlined above.