Men's health week (always the week in June coming up to Father's Day)

iptba · 13-06-2026 11:39PM #1

A thread on this to post information or discuss anything to do with this.

iptba · 13-06-2026 11:42PM

I get a sense of pride from Be OK Garage — a group for car-loving men to talk about mental health

Car enthusiast Dave Smith is helping men change gears and open up about their mental health at Be OK Garage

I get a sense of pride from Be OK Garage — a group for car-loving men to talk about mental health

[..]

“I took a picture of myself and the car in my driveway, posted it on Instagram and then that started to turn into a little group of similar car people. I hosted a few meets in local car parks. Small seminars, announced on Instagram. I wanted to give people somewhere where they were comfortable and felt welcome.

"He eventually named the group Be OK Garage after a small tattoo on his arm, which reminds him to ‘be OK’ when he’s feeling down.

"The group has gathered momentum. Smith’s Instagram following, @davebokgarage , has reached almost 7,000, and he was recently appointed as an ambassador for charities Men’s Health Forum in Ireland (MHFI) and Suicide or Survive."

[..]

Fact file

Research shows that men experience a disproportionate burden of ill-health and die too young.
Men’s Health Week starts on Monday, June 15 and ends on Father’s Day, Sunday, June 21. It aims to raise awareness of preventable health problems among males of all ages and encourages them to adopt healthier lifestyle choices.
The theme for the island of Ireland this year is ‘One Step at a Time’. Men are being asked to set simple, realistic and practical tasks to improve their health and are encouraged to make progress, rather than being overwhelmed by aiming for perfection.
It’s easy to do something to mark the week and improve the health of men and boys, and everyone can get involved (see the ‘What Can I Do’ paper).
Start with the ‘Action Man’ Manual which offers ten top tips for men’s health.
You can find out everything that you need to know at www.mhfi.org

iptba · 14-06-2026 06:00PM

From: Colin Fowler <colin@mhfi.org>
To: E-Male Matters Mailing List <colin@mhfi.org>
Subject: Men's Health Week 2026 - We Need Your Help

Dear Colleague,

As you are aware, Men's Health Week (MHW) begins on Monday 15th June and runs until Sunday 21st June 2026. It would be great if you could lend your support to it in whatever way(s) you can - but, especially, by raising the profile of the week with your contacts and through social media. Here’s how you can simply and easily contribute …

One of the most effective ways to draw attention to MHW is by creating a huge stir on social media from the outset, and getting the week trending online. Traditional media (TV, radio and newsprint) often use this popularity as an indicator of what they should be covering in their own output - so, the more online activity, the more traditional coverage we are likely to receive.

To do this, we simply need as many people as possible to Post / Tweet / Re-Tweet as often as possible throughout the week (but especially on Monday 15th June 2026) using the main hashtag: #MensHealthWeek as well as the secondary ones: #ProgressNotPerfection and#SmallStepsBigResults

If you have your own social media content to share, that’s brilliant. If not, simply cut-and-paste from the ready-made pool ( https://mhfi.org/Tweets2026.pdf ) or re-Tweet the content on other organisations’ sites. Social media graphics are available to download at: https://mhfi.org/mhw/mhw-image-pack.html#SocialMedia2026 So, it couldn’t be easier!

Here are a few other things which you might find useful ...

§ Everything you need to know about MHW 2026 can be found at: https://www.mhfi.org/mhw/mhw-2026.html

§ The ‘Toolbox for Action’ paper tries to answer key questions about MHW 2026: https://www.mhfi.org/mhw2026toolbox.pdf

§ If you’re still looking for simple and practical things to do to mark the week, see: https://www.mhfi.org/mhw2026celebrateit.pdf

§ You can find all of the graphics for MHW 2026 at: https://mhfi.org/mhw/mhw-2026.html#Images

§ An electronic version of the 'Action Man - ten top tips for men’s health' manual is available at: https://mhfi.org/ActionMan.pdf However, you can still order hard copies from: https://mhfi.org/mhw/mhw-2026.html#ActionMan

§ If you want some key statistics on men's health, have a look at: https://mhfi.org/resources/key-facts.html

§ The 'Do You Know Your Numbers?' z-card is online at: https://mhfi.org/MensHealthInNumbers.pdf and you can also still order hard copies of it at: https://mhfi.org/mhw/mhw-2026.html#ZCard

§ The MHW 2026 video resources (social media clips, podcast and webinars) are available at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiqgFFqtG0xChTMHkjxCbmRM6xjT_b1o4

§ If you want to get a taste / snapshot of some of the events taking place during MHW 2026, check out: https://mhfi.org/Events2026.pdf

Any support that you can offer to MHW 2026 will be gratefully received. Even a few Tweets or Posts, using the hashtags above, will have a major positive impact.

I hope you have a great week!

All the best,

iptba · 20-06-2026 07:29PM

Service has delivered over 13,300 sessions as more funding set to be allocated

Mental Health Minister Mary Butler has revealed that more than 2,000 men have used a new free counselling service delivered by the HSE over a six-month period.

[..]

Men can be referred to the free service through their GP or other mental health supports like counselling hot lines.

[..]

To mark Men’s Health Week, Ms Butler is encouraging men to seek out the free counselling service if they need it.

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/more-than-2000-men-use-free-hse-counselling-in-first-six-months-as-minister-mary-butler-hails-significant-milestone/a/157460695.html

Jim_Hodge · 20-06-2026 07:46PM

It's certainly a well kept secret this Men's Health Week. It has been and gone and this is the only mention of it I have come across.

Men's health week (always the week in June coming up to Father's Day)

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