Resources

National Lottery Community Fund – Boost for familes in the Northwest

Men’s Action Network is one of three projects working with families in the north west that have been awarded grants totalling £2,091,251 from the programme. Other projects are working with families with children who have children with sight loss, autism and physical disabilities. (a full list of grants awarded can be found here). Men’s Action Network has been awarded £698,767 to work with Fermanagh Women’s Aid on the five-year Fathering Families project. It is supporting families who may have experienced issues including poverty, separation, divorce, addiction and domestic violence in the Derry/Londonderry, Enniskillen, Dungiven, Magherafelt and Omagh areas to be healthier, happier and stronger. The project is working with a range of other agencies and activities include parenting and communication skills, peer support, play and art therapy and signposting to other services.

For media enquiries, please contact Lucy Gollogly at the National Lottery Community Fund Press Office.
Direct line: 02890 551 432
Website: tnlcommunityfund/funding/northern-ireland
Twitter: @TNLComFund
Facebook: facebook/TNLCommunityFund/

TURN 2 US – Fighting Poverty

Turn 2 Us is a national charity providing practical help to people who are struggling financially.

You Can…
Check benefit entitlement
Search for a grant
Find information and help

Turn2Us provides a free, accessible website that can help you find appropriate resources of financial help, quickly and easily, based on your particular needs and circumstances.

Trun2Us is part of the national charity, Elizabeth Finn Care.

Male Menu – join the conversation about topics directly affecting men

Male Menu offers informative articles under six different categories and their TALK section is designed to encourage conversations. Whilst their site is focused on male specific topics they hope females will also browse and engage on behalf of men in their life.

You Can talk about…
Helath
Apperance
Parenting
Local Issues

Gain insight and knowledge about every aspect of life.

Men’s Health Week 2020..

International Men’s Health Week (MHW) always begins on the Monday before Father’s Day and ends on Father’s Day itself. During 2020, it will run from Monday 15th until Sunday 21st June.

It is celebrated in many European countries, as well as in the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and a number of other places worldwide. The overall aims of MHW are to:

1. Heighten awareness of preventable health problems for males of all ages.
2. Support men and boys to engage in healthier lifestyle choices / activities.
3. Encourage the early detection and treatment of health difficulties in males.

But why is there a need to hold a Men’s Health Week? … Males constitute almost 50% of the population on the island of Ireland and, therefore, deserve to have a gender lens focused upon their specific health needs. Research shows that these men experience a disproportionate burden of ill-health and die too young …

• Local men die almost four years younger than women do.
• Males have higher death rates than females for almost all of the leading causes of death and at all ages.
• Men’s poorer lifestyles are responsible for a high proportion of chronic diseases.
• Late presentation to health services can lead to a large number of problems becoming untreatable …

Indeed, while many of these conditions are preventable, their prevalence amongst men may, in fact, rise in the future.

However, Men’s Health Week 2020 will also take place against a backdrop of the Coronavirus / COVID-19 pandemic. Worldwide, this virus is having a major and disproportionate impact upon men. It has caused uncertainty, disruption and a sense of fear for many of us. For others, it has had even more devastating consequences. These are really challenging times.

Despite this, the past few months have also shown us the best side of males – when the vast majority have answered the call and did their bit to ‘flatten the curve’, offer practical help to others, home-school their children, strengthen community spirit, show positive leadership, help to keep essential services running, and protect vulnerable people. We should celebrate this contribution.

The celebration of Men’s Health Week on the island of Ireland is funded by the Health Service Executive’s Health Promotion and Improvement and the Public Health Agency. Throughout the week, everyone is asked to ‘BE PART OF THE SOLUTION’ and to do something realistic and practical – no matter how small – to help to RESTORE SOME BALANCE and stability in everyone’s lives. Rarely has this been more needed!

So, are you up for the challenge? …

Please use the links below to find out everything that you need to know about MHW 2020 …

Would you prefer to HEAR about Men’s Health Week rather that READ about it?

Why focus upon ‘Restoring the Balance’?

The Impact of COVID-19 upon Men

Who can be involved in this week?

Planning Group for Men’s Health Week 2020

Poster for Men’s Health Week 2020

Men’s Health Week 2020 Graphics Pack

‘Challenges and Choices’ Man Manual

How to keep up-to-date with the latest MHW 2020 news

What can I do to mark Men’s Health Week 2020?

Raise the profile of MHW 2020 – Get Tweeting / Posting with a ready-made pool of content!

Tell others about your Men’s Health Week 2020 Activities

Men’s Health Week 2020 – A Toolbox for Action

Would you like to HEAR about Men’s Health Week 2020 (the why, when, who, where and what), rather than have to READ about it? … If so, click on the play button below to listen to Lorcan Brennan (Men’s Development Network) speaking to Colin Fowler (Men’s Health Forum in Ireland) about the week:

Why focus upon ‘Restoring the Balance’?
Not too long ago, we were unaware of the full extent of men’s poor health status and the specific health issues that they must deal with. However, this is no longer the case. In recent years, a broad range of research has highlighted the health challenges which face men in Ireland and further afield. For example …

Men’s Health in Ireland (PDF, 2.13MB)

Getting Inside Men’s Health (PDF, 1.5MB)

Men’s Health in Northern Ireland: Tackling the Root Causes of Men’s [ill] Health (PDF, 965KB)

A Report on the all-Ireland Young Men and Suicide Project (PDF, 2.73MB)

Facing the Challenge – The Impact of Recession and Unemployment on Men’s Health in Ireland (PDF, 1.9MB)

A Report on the Excess Burden of Cancer among Men in the Republic of Ireland (PDF, 2.95MB )

The State of Men’s Health in Europe (PDF, 3.63MB)

Middle-Aged Men and Suicide in Ireland (PDF, 4.49MB) …

Although the health of men in Ireland is poor, it can be improved in many significant ways. A wide range of innovative and positive work has already taken place to support the health needs of men and boys: Ireland was the first country in the world to have a National Men’s Health Policy which has now been succeeded by the Healthy Ireland – Men Action Plan; the ‘Engage’ Men’s Health Training Programme has influenced how services and structures support males; pioneering approaches have been developed and tested which provide models for improving men’s health; new men’s health / support groups are evolving across the island of Ireland … Much has been achieved, but there is still room for improvement.

Of course, men, themselves, need to play a central role in taking control of their health and wellbeing. But men’s health is not just an issue for individual men. While it is crucial for men to take responsibility for looking after themselves, their health can often be determined by other factors outside of their personal control. Thus, there is also a need for policy-makers, service providers, and society as a whole to recognise the role that they need to play, and to do something practical about it. This will require everyone to focus attention upon the men and boys around us.

2020 has been an exceptional year in many ways. As the island of Ireland emerges from, what might be, the first wave of COVID-19, individuals across the country are trying to re-build their lives, relationships, jobs, finances, physical health, emotional resilience, connections, routines etc. Some people are still living with trauma and bereavement. Others are having to re-focus their priorities and to find new ways of living. Everyone’s mental health has been impacted to some degree, and there is a need to find some new form of stable, realistic and relevant equilibrium – at least in the short-term. However, as these have been almost unprecedented times, this process is likely to be slow, gradual and incremental.

This is why the theme chosen for Men’s Health Week 2020 is ‘Restoring the Balance’. To make this happen, everyone needs to ‘Be Part of the Solution’.

The Impact of COVID-19 Upon Men
The Coronavirus / COVID-19 pandemic is having a major impact upon men. While there is a broadly similar incidence and prevalence to women, men:

• are faster at developing serious illness;
• recover slower from the virus;
• have a higher death rate.

There is also a broad range of mental health and social impacts upon men and the wider community which are a cause for concern.

To shine some light on this situation, the Engage National Men’s Health Training Programme invited Alan White, Emeritus Professor of Men’s Health, to present his insights into why this might be so via a one hour online webinar titled ‘Men and COVID-19’. This took place on Wednesday 13th May 2020. Alan gave a presentation on the current evidence, and there was an opportunity for the audience to ask questions afterwards.

You can view a video of the webinar below or, to see it on a full screen, visit: https://youtu.be/MGsP3IaQ5lg