Motherwell, club chief executive Alan Burrows and supporters have been praised for their work in raising mental health awareness.
Supporters of the Fir Park club recently placed posters with mental health helplines around the town in order to raise awareness of the topic which has hit Lanarkshire hard.
128 people in North Lanarkshire have taken their own lives since 2019, with the number totalling 784 across Scotland. Suicide is the leading cause of death in young and middle-aged men in the UK.
Motherwell have run a number of initiatives in recent seasons to help combat this, with Suicide Prevention North Lanarkshire logo’s displayed on home strips one of them.
‘Well striker Tony Watt’s jersey from last month’s win over Aberdeen was auctioned off and raised over £2,300 for for SAMH, Scotland’s mental health charity, and Chris’s House, the centre for help, response and intervention surrounding suicide.
(Image: SNS Group)
Chris’s House founder, Anne Rowan, has praised the work of Motherwell and the club’s fans.
“Alan Burrows is so, so supportive of our work,” said Rowan. “The ‘Well Bois’ have been really supportive as well. They have been impacted by suicide. That’s what peaked Alan’s interest.
“That is so great. I can’t thank that man enough. I can’t praise him and the club enough for their proactive approach and all of the work in the charity field of mental health.”
Chris’s House, which is based in Wishaw, is the first non-medical crisis centre in Scotland offering integrated support. Rowan has future plans to develop the charity further.
“Our aims are quite high over the next few years,” added Rowan. “The next thing we are going to do is a live-in service, for people in absolute crisis.
“That’ll be a one or two-bedded unit. We’ll also have respite caravans for people to come to if they have lost people to suicide.”
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