Partnerships

Mental Health Partner

BACK ONSIDE

With aligned values surrounding mental health within the football industry, both sides are looking forward to working together to achieve their shared goals and promote positive mental health within the club and beyond. It cannot be underestimated just how vital a role this partnership will be as it will assist in reaching not only those within the game but also the wider community. Over the past 5 years, there have been a vast number of players and staff at many clubs in Scotland and beyond being supported by the charity. The value of having a safe and confidential space away from the clubs can be massive for any player or staff member as it means they have somewhere else to turn to and be able to open up and it does not affect their day to day working life. In addition, the issues faced by players and staff extend to daily life and problems or struggles beyond football. From this point of view, the professional staff at Back Onside are experienced at dealing with people and issues from a plethora of backgrounds and not just sport. As part of the partnership, Back Onside will work closely with Elgin City FC management team to support players and staff with their mental health, hold regular changing room chats, host mental health workshops, and provide training such as Mental Health First Aid. Elgin City FC will commit to supporting Back Onside and the work they do, making sure the club is a safe space to talk openly about mental health and importantly, this also offers a safe and confidential space for players and staff to find support. Elgin City FC will also fundraise for Back Onside throughout the year and help to raise awareness for mental health within the football industry and beyond which is vital in the ongoing crisis around mental health which Back Onside strive to give their continuous support to. Again, any funds raised will go directly towards helping support those struggling with their mental health and this is key to sustaining the charity as they are solely reliant on donations and currently receive no government funding.

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Mental Health Partner

MIKEYSLINE

Mikeysline was founded in 2015 following the tragic deaths of good friends Martin Shaw & Michael Williamson within 48 hours of eachother.

This heartbreaking loss of life only added to the growing number of suicides in the Highland area. Speaking to Martin and Michael’s peers at their wake, Ron Williamson, Mikey’s uncle, heard that young people felt that they had nowhere to go when they were at a loss when struggling with mental health issues.

So Ron, along with other key individuals, founded Mikeysline with the aim of changing this so that others might receive the help and support that Mikey needed. An aim that struck an immediate chord at the hearts of many.

Support for Mikeysline quickly gathered momentum and a grassroots charity was formed. A candlelit parade was an early indication of the level of support from those in the Highlands for everything that Mikeysline was being set up to achieve, but most of all to help prevent the tragic loss of further lives due to the lack of accessible support when it was most needed.

People can struggle daily with a multitude of mental health and emotional issues, which impact their life and health, yet only a fraction of people feel able to talk about it. At Mikeysline, our suicide prevention and mental health awareness work is at the core of what we do to break down the stigma associated with seeking support for emotional distress. That it is okay not to be okay and that no one should suffer in silence.

We are very proud to be partnered with Mikeysline, a fantastic charity focused on Mental Health. They are now doing more work in Moray & we are very much looking forward to working with them over the coming years to challenge the stigmas around Mental Health.

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Membership Partnership

MORAY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

They are Moray’s leading business organisation representing, galvanising and supporting businesses of all sizes. They are focused on delivering dynamic, supportive, informative and professional services to every one of our members.

We joined the chamber to increase our range of networking amongst local businesses.

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Workforce Partnership

DYW

Developing the Young Workforce is a national government funded project made up of 21 regional groups across Scotland, with an overall aim to provide more opportunities for young people to be better prepared for the world of work, and lower youth unemployment.

As an employer-led organisation, they work with businesses in Moray to help provide young people with more opportunities to better prepare them for work.

We hope to work closely with them to attend training sessions for young people & provide opportunities within our Academy & Community Departments.

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