Leeds United are showing their support for World Mental Health Day throughout the week as we hope to help those who are struggling and encourage people to seek the help they need.
World Mental Health Day is a special day to talk about mental health and show everyone that mental health matters. It is a day to fight against any negative stigma around mental health and let people know that it is okay to ask for help, no matter what you’re going through, talking to someone will help.
The Leeds United Foundation are hosting an exhibition at Elland Road throughout the week which was created in honour of much-loved father-of-two Bruce Wetherhill, who took his own life in December 2020, aged 31. Bruce was a lifelong Leeds United supporter and the art exhibition, which was created with the help of artist Keith Hopewell, features the Leeds United badge.
Created by York Mind, the Bruce Project is currently on a regional tour to help raise awareness around death by suicide and some of the statistics around mental health struggles.
York Mind have been gearing up to bring the issue of death by suicide to a much wider audience, and Stef Bricklebank, Young People’s Group Manager at York Mind, said: “This project, which has been funded by Bruce’s family and friends, is the culmination of many months of working within the local community on suicide prevention, but this issue is a much a bigger one. Every year, somewhere in the region of six thousand people die by suicide.
Simon Wood, the Health and Wellbeing Lead at the Leeds United Foundation, added: “We are really pleased to welcome the Bruce Project to Elland Road. Suicide is the single biggest killer of men under the age of 45, and we want to reach out to people who may feel like they are alone to gain support and we want to remind as many people as possible how important it is to talk to someone, and share your struggles.”
The Bruce Project is available to be viewed by supporters at Elland Road, in the LUDO Lounge, please see below for dates and times for the rest of the week:
Thursday 12th October 9am to 5pm
Friday 13th October 9am to 5pm
The Leeds United Foundation deliver a number of different programmes from Elland Road during the week to improve mental health and wellbeing. If you would like further information around some of their initiatives, please contact [email protected].
