The fishermen fighting mental health

As the pandemic threatens Britain’s mental health, the ‘Fishermen’ fight back

Co-founders Rick Roberts and Mick Leyland officially registered the Bearded Fishermen charity as the pandemic was just beginning in March. The name is a nod to their shared love of fishing and to the bushy facial hair they both sport!

The pair’s own mental health struggles brought them together as pals, both have survived suicide attempts along with being homeless, and the two became friends during weekly fishing outings with a group of other men.

Rick is the Chairman of Bearded Fishermen Charity. Through his own experiences of mental illness and homelessness has good insight to helping people in need, together with Mick he feels that there is a need for a lot more support for communities and is very approachable to talk too and support people with mental health and mental wellbeing problems.

Mick is the vice chairman of the charity, who has extensive experience with mental health problems through his own experiences, he has a passion for helping others in need and is very approachable to talk too.

‘All our support volunteers are professional and handle questions from people with discretion’

They thought others, particularly men who struggle to open up, could benefit from similar support. Late last year, they began a weekly community group, where men could “hash out their problems” over cups of tea at a local community center, Mr. Leyland said.

When the pandemic made gatherings impossible, they moved their meetings online. Then they set up the call center this summer, providing phone support 24/7.

The Bearded Fishermen provide free and confidential support around Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention for people in the Lincolnshire region. ‘Our suicide prevention has done a lot of work in Scunthorpe especially Winterton recently’ Rick states.

One of their many positive Facebook reviews ‘What you guys do is incredible! You let people know they don’t have to struggle alone, you give them an ear and support and that… is amazing’

The charity is currently looking for volunteers so please get in touch!

Registered Charity Number: 1188510