Hello, my name is Joshua.

I’m a young Irish lad with a huge desire to help support men this month.

As it’s Men’s Mental Health Month, I hope to raise money for the Men’s Shed Association, an organisation that brings men together to work on community projects, learn new skills, and build lasting friendships. I personally believe it’s a great for men’s mental health as sometimes, starting something new alongside someone in a similar situation helps you realise that others are going through things they don’t always talk about. I think bringing men together like this can make it easier for them to open up and ask for the help they need. A lot of men think it's okay to have this standard to hide their feelings form one and other because "it's just what men do", its a stigma that has been going around for decades, but I hope this message and or more importantly our community can change, so the guy that never talks can feel free to open up, or your dad or friends that never seem to have any problems, can see that it's okay to ask for help. As ufc fighter Paddy Pimlett said "I'd rather have my mate cry on my shoulder than go to his funeral next week".

Recently, a family friend, Richie sadly lost his life fighting his demons, my mam knew him much more than me as I would've been only young when I met him last. It came as shock to me as I remembered him from when I was young and had vague memories of him but I really felt the sympathy for his lovely family as I knew how much they loved him as he was their brother son or father. May he rest in peace.

Richie like many other men who lose their lives to suicide each day, reminds us how important it is to let the men in our lives know that there’s a community there for them that they’re not absolutely not alone.

To help raise money, and in a symbol of turning a new leaf I’ll be shaving my head at the end of the month (November 30th) and posting it on my Instagram: @joshisjustjoshin.

If you can share or donate, I thank you very very much in any way you can contribute, it is much appreciated.