Men’s Health Unlocked (MHU)
Men’s Health Unlocked (MHU) is a Leeds-based network linking the brilliant work supporting men’s health and wellbeing in and around Leeds. MHU, in partnership with its members, provides information, advice and resources, identifies gaps in provision, and develops collaborative solutions to meet these needs.
During 2022, MHU are working on a number of projects, mostly being funded by the National Lottery Reaching Communities Fund until September 2023. Springfield are working with MHU on two projects: Digital Trailblazers and The Digital Inclusion Project.
Digital Trailblazers
Research shows that men are less likely to speak about their feelings, with half of men feeling uncomfortable talking about their emotion, compared to 40% of women (Mind UK). Touchstones new initiative aims to tackle men’s health inequalities in Leeds. This activity encouraged open conversations with our residents and proved to be a very valuable activity.
Springfield Healthcare are working with Touchstone to raise awareness and break the stigma of mental health, especially in men. We invited Touchstone representatives to our Springfield homes to speak with our residents. Male residents were asked ‘what does masculinity means to you?’
Local artist will be creating a visual for each home with the words and comments that residents used in response to this question. Our residents are excited for the reveal of this artwork.
Digital Inclusion Project
Many men need support and encouragement to access online services and social media. In order to help overcome digital exclusion, MHU are providing free wi-fi enabled tablets and training to men, and the organisations that support them. This project is for adult males across Leeds who feel they could benefit from having access to the internet and who would like to increase their confidence using technology.
We feel very fortunate to be one of the organisations who are benefitting from this project. Male residents across our Springfield homes will be given tablets, a years access to the internet and ongoing training and support for how to use their new tablets.
