A NEW mental health initiative aimed at giving men in their middle ages a safe space is set to be launched by the Pars Foundation.

The organisation, the charity arm of Dunfermline Athletic, which runs community initiatives on its behalf, will host the first session of the ‘Changing Room Project’ on Monday.

Run by the SPFL Trust, and facilitated by SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health), the initiative supports men aged between 30-65 through a 12-week programme that uses the power of football to tackle mental health.

Based at KDM Group East End Park – although you don’t have to be a Pars fan to attend – it is ground-breaking, structured initiative that is aimed to bring a strong element of peer support, with participants helping one another to move through the programme, and beyond it.

As well as seeking to help those taking part to better self-manage their own mental health, and support each other, the programme hopes to tackle lonliness and isolation, and increase their social connectedness.

It will be led by Eddie Martin, Dunfermline Athletic’s mental health ambassador, and the Pars Foundation’s health and wellbeing officer, and Iain Philp, a community coach with the Pars Foundation.

Eddie, who alongside the Pars Foundation, has already launched three successful mental health initiatives – a walk and talk group, which meets on Fridays, and ‘Keep Kicking On’, a Monday night project where those aged between 16-25 can come together to play football in a safe space.

The Pars Foundation also offer a football fans in training programme, and Eddie said: “We’re hoping that this is going to be as much of a success as the other three programmes that we’ve put out - football fans in training, the walk and talk group, and the Monday night football, Keep Kicking On, which is specifically for the 16-25 year olds, whereas this group catches men in their middle ages.

“It’s using football, and football clubs, as a vehicle to give men a safe space to come and talk about their mental health.”

The first introductory session meets this Monday, at 6pm, at East End Park and, for more information, email enquiries@parsfoundation.co.uk, eddie@parsfoundation.co.uk, or iain@parsfoundation.co.uk.