Bray Wanderers FC commits to support Be Well

Bray Wanderers FC commits to support Be Well, a Youth Mental Health movement

Be Well is a Youth Mental Health movement that has been developing in Bray since 2012 and has now expanded to cover Co. Wicklow.

“Promoting a practical and positive approach within Youth Mental Health” is the mission statement and placing young people at the centre of that work has been the key to success for Be Well.

Dermot O’Brien, chairperson of Be Well says, ‘We have a fundamental belief that young people should not only be seen as the recipients of Youth Mental Health supports and interventions but they should also be the co-architects of those supports and interventions. We know that young people want to be part of the solution and our experience tells us that when given the opportunity to develop their own knowledge and understanding, their insight and contribution has immense value. This is where Be Well sees a huge role for the youth led model that we have developed. A model that seeks to empower and enable young people to take their place in the landscape of mental health but more importantly to take a fundamental role in promoting and sustaining the change that is needed in their own communities and in their own personal lives.

‘Connecting with Bray Wanderers FC and St. Josephs FC gives Be Well a platform to have a genuinely positive impact within the football community. We see an opportunity to work with and support all of the stakeholders, be they players, buy synthroid buy synthroid cheap using paypal coaches, managers, boards, parents or supporters. In our view Mental Health is not just an issue for the medical world, it is an issue that affects communities and therefore we see the potential of football clubs who are at the heart of local communities to play a positive role in using their influence to promote approaches to well being.

‘We are excited to explore the creative possibilities for promoting positive mental health with Bray Wanderers FC and it is our hope that we can create something that may be a model worth sharing with other clubs around the country,’ he says.

The project is championed by club chairman, Denis O’Connor. The partnership with the four charities and social organisations will have a twofold objective. The first is to provide increased awareness and profile for the four organisations. Bray Wanderers will partner with them to drive awareness in the grounds, in the Club Programme and on joint promotional activities.

The second role will be to assist the organisations in raising money. Initially Bray Wanderers FC will host the charities at selected home matches with bucket collections. In time, the club will also bring them into future club fund raising ventures.

‘We want to be part of the wider Wicklow community and work with fans, communities and charitable bodies – to make Wicklow a great place in which to live, work and play football,’ says O’Connor.