Latest news with #JoeyBeauchamp
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Oxford United holds suicide prevention training
Oxford United has delivered its first day of suicide prevention training for all of its players and staff. The club partnered with Baton of Hope in February to become the first professional football club to sign up to the charity's workplace pledge. It was taken on the third anniversary of the death of Oxford United legend Joey Beauchamp, who took his own life at home in Kidlington in 2022. Mike McCarthy, Baton of Hope co-founder, said it was about "opening conversations and getting people to talk". The club's partnership with the charity forms part of its Can We Talk? campaign to tackle the stigma around mental health and suicide. It was launched on World Mental Health Day in October 2024 in partnership with the Joey Beauchamp Foundation. United first team player and Baton of Hope ambassador Will Vaulk, who lost his two grandfathers to suicide, lead the campaign and said he wanted to "have an impact on making a change". Can We Talk? founder Ryan Maher said the club had recognised "through its own past and its own history that there is a real deep connection to suicide with Oxford United and the county". "Footballers are people that people look up to," he said. "There's an audience here of people who are majority men and unfortunately with suicides, the majority of cases are men. "We've already seen such an impact... we are making a difference, which is so amazing. "But we're not going to stop there, we want to improve that." Mr McCarthy, whose son took his own life in February 2021, said men in particular "find it very hard, if not impossible, to open up about the emotional challenges that we all go through". "Unless we normalise conversations about it, nothing's going to change." He said he had found out that employers were "afraid" to tackle the issue. "That's where we come in - we guide and help employers to be able to keep their staff safe and well and to recognise that mental health is every bit as important as physical health," he said. Personnel at team sponsor and heating company Baxi have also taken part in the training. Paul Haynes from the company said he had lost a family member and a good friend to suicide. He said: "It resonated with us... and we feel it's really important that through the power of sport you can help spread the word. "But also within industry, we want to say that it is OK to talk." If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story you can visit BBC Action Line. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Mental health issues 'not weakness' - Oxford coach Oxford United Baton of Hope Joey Beauchamp Foundation
BBC News
30-04-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Oxford United's suicide prevention training 'opens conversations'
Oxford United has delivered its first day of suicide prevention training for all of its players and club partnered with Baton of Hope in February to become the first professional football club to sign up to the charity's workplace was taken on the third anniversary of the death of Oxford United legend Joey Beauchamp, who took his own life at home in Kidlington in McCarthy, Baton of Hope co-founder, said it was about "opening conversations and getting people to talk". The club's partnership with the charity forms part of its Can We Talk? campaign to tackle the stigma around mental health and was launched on World Mental Health Day in October 2024 in partnership with the Joey Beauchamp Foundation. United first team player and Baton of Hope ambassador Will Vaulk, who lost his two grandfathers to suicide, lead the campaign and said he wanted to "have an impact on making a change".Can We Talk? founder Ryan Maher said the club had recognised "through its own past and its own history that there is a real deep connection to suicide with Oxford United and the county"."Footballers are people that people look up to," he said."There's an audience here of people who are majority men and unfortunately with suicides, the majority of cases are men."We've already seen such an impact... we are making a difference, which is so amazing."But we're not going to stop there, we want to improve that." Mr McCarthy, whose son took his own life in February 2021, said men in particular "find it very hard, if not impossible, to open up about the emotional challenges that we all go through"."Unless we normalise conversations about it, nothing's going to change."He said he had found out that employers were "afraid" to tackle the issue."That's where we come in - we guide and help employers to be able to keep their staff safe and well and to recognise that mental health is every bit as important as physical health," he at team sponsor and heating company Baxi have also taken part in the Haynes from the company said he had lost a family member and a good friend to said: "It resonated with us... and we feel it's really important that through the power of sport you can help spread the word."But also within industry, we want to say that it is OK to talk." If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story you can visit BBC Action Line. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'We want football fans to realise they can seek help'
Oxford United has become the first professional football club to sign up for a suicide prevention charity's workplace pledge. Its new partnership with Baton of Hope will see the club deliver in-house personal suicide prevention training to all of its players and staff. U's first team player Will Vaulks said the topic was something he was "incredibly passionate" about, having lost two grandparents to suicide. The pledge comes on the third anniversary of the death of Oxford United legend Joey Beauchamp, who took his own life at home in Kidlington in 2022. Vaulks, who is an ambassador for Baton of Hope, said: "It's been a long time since I lost my granddads, and now I feel I want to have an impact on making a change - instead of me just coming on and talking about my loss, I want to actually put things in place that prevent suicides." "We want our fans to listen to these things and realise that they can talk, they can seek help," the 31-year-old told BBC Radio Oxford. He said men were "notoriously not great" at talking about their mental health, but added: "That's where football brings us all together - the match day talking about the game, you could actually just delve a little bit deeper with your friends." "You guys and girls in the stands, just have a little bit more of a conversation about each other - maybe stop slagging off my first touch for a minute and check on your mate next to you," Vaulks added. Founded in 2023 by two fathers who lost their sons to suicide, Baton of Hope was established with the vision of creating a zero-suicide society. Mike McCarthy, whose son took his own life four years ago, said the charity's workplace pledge was a "kind of kitemark for best practice when it comes to suicide prevention in the workplace". On Oxford United's commitment to the pledge he said: "People look up to these guys and respect them and they listen to them, and to have role models like that embracing the idea that we should all think about suicide in the workplace and suicide prevention is incredibly important. "They're doing something practical to try and make a change for the future, and I can't thank them enough for the way that they've embraced this." The new partnership forms part of the club's suicide prevention and mental health initiative, Can We Talk?, which was launched in October 2024. Suicide is currently the largest killer of men under the age of 50 in UK. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story you can visit BBC Action Line. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Joey Beauchamp remembered three years on from death Mental health issues 'not weakness' - Oxford coach Oxford United Baton of Hope
