Duo encouraging it is ‘OK to talk’
A HALIFAX organisation are tackling mental health stigma over the winter months.
Unmasked Mental Health, formed in 2018 to deliver services to both men and women in Calderdale, are now bidding to become a registered charity and aim to have a foothold nationwide.
The brains behind Unmasked are Logan Bonham Smith, 27, and Doug Dennison, 36, who are both based at Croft Myl.
Mr Smith said: “We want people to know it’s OK to talk. We work close with Andy’s Man Club and provide four meetings on Thursdays at 7pm in Brighouse, Halifax, Mytholmroyd, and Sowerby Bridge.”
The rally call from Unmasked comes after Atif Jamil, 25, was awarded at the recent Calderdale Policing Awards for assisting in the prevention of a suicide attempt in
Halifax’s town centre last year. Atif Jamil, 25, of Halifax, said: “I was driving on Burdock Way and saw a man on his own at the side of the road. “He was sober and there was no indication of any drug-taking I remember he was very wellspoken and an intelligent man. “Another person was on the scene at the time who contacted the police.”
Eventually, Mr Jamil talked the man down from Burdock Way and assisted police in preventing the potential suicide. “This man was at the lowest point in his life, but I told him he wasn’t alone and I tried to hold my nerve,” said Mr Jamil. “Every day I think about it. Just because someone is smiling doesn’t mean they are OK mentally, or physically.”