Big Hearts announced as partner of new mental health project
This week, the Scottish Government announced a £100,000 funding to deliver The Changing Room ‘Extra Time’ to four major football grounds across the country – including Tynecastle Park.
Since 2018 Big Hearts has been delivering The Changing Room at the Hearts’ Stadium, encouraging football supporters to start conversations about their mental health.
Building on the success of The Changing Room programme, the new ‘Extra Time’ initiative will provide further opportunities for individuals to explore specific challenges they face.
Mental Wellbeing Minister Kevin Stewart commented on the launch:
“Mental wellbeing has never been more important especially as we continue to deal with the ongoing pandemic. I am pleased to see this programme grow and develop. My message is simple, we shouldn’t be afraid to talk about how we are feeling. This is an excellent way to combine football to improve mental wellbeing.”
Big Hearts is honoured to have been trusted to deliver ‘Extra Time’ alongside three other football club’s charities at Aberdeen FC, Hibernian FC and Rangers FC – and in continued partnership with the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH) and the SPFL Trust.
Big Hearts General Manager Craig Wilson said:
“Over the past three years, we’ve witnessed how many lives The Changing Room has transformed, simply by using football as a common ground for people to open up and share how they feel.
We are honoured to be in the position to deliver ‘Extra Time’ at Tynecastle Park in the near future, helping more individuals take care of their mental health whilst growing our successful partnership with SAMH and the SPFL Trust.”
What is Extra Time?
Extra Time aims to give people the opportunity to come together and speak in more depth about their mental wellbeing, including how they view themselves, think and feel – all of which can impacts their mental health.
About The Changing Room
The Changing Room is a 12-week programme aimed at promoting positive mental health to men in their middle years. It was first run at Hibernian then Hearts in 2018 and has been so far rolled out to 19 other Scottish football grounds.