The club has teamed up with Samaritans and Mind in Haringey to launch a new mental health campaign in North London
Tottenham Hotspur are teaming up with mental health charities Samaritans and Mind in Haringey to launch a new campaign against suicide.
Spurs have produced a powerful new short film showing how a simple conversation can be life-saving, tackling the stigma around asking for help.
This comes at a time when one in four people experience suicidal thoughts and someone in the UK takes their own life every 90 minutes.
The YouTube film follows a young Spurs fan struggling with his mental health, repeatedly seeing a white phone box that symbolises the call to Samaritans he’s avoiding. It also features men’s and women’s head coaches Thomas Frank and Martin Ho, as well as first-team players.
As part of the Premier League’s ‘Together Against Suicide’ initiative, this story sits within Spurs’ wider local mental health work, delivered in partnership with Mind in Haringey. The partnership includes a matchday mental health support service that, since September, has received over 100 contacts and has already made potentially life-saving interventions.
The short film’s cast also features local heroes at recognisable locations including Vicky Alvarez, chair of the Seven Sisters Market Traders Association, who also runs the recently refurbished the Seven Sisters Market. Vicky has worked at the market since 2000 and has played a key role in shaping it into a hub for the Latin community in Tottenham.
Filming also took place at the Antwerp Arms, Tottenham’s only community-owned pub.
The film has been released alongside new research from Tottenham Hotspur, highlighting the barriers to seeking support.
The campaign will come to life at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, 20th December, when Spurs host Liverpool. Fans will be invited to share the message ‘To Talk Is To Do’, with the white phone box available for photos and helpline cards handed out to local supporters.
With the festive period approaching, one in five people (20%) have admitted to finding this time tougher than last year – rising to 24% in London. For people reluctant to pick up the phone to seek help, 28% admitted it was because they wouldn’t know how to start the conversation and 32% didn’t feel their own struggles were serious enough.
Tottenham Hotspur CEO Vinai Venkatesham, who co-created Together Against Suicide alongside broadcaster Roman Kemp, said: “At Spurs, we want to break the stigma that exists around people not reaching out for the support they need for fear of being judged.
“Premier League football and its clubs benefit from a huge platform to demonstrate how making that first call for help can make all the difference. We are extremely proud to be working alongside Samaritans to convey this message.
“We hope the release of today’s film, the Premier League’s Together Against Suicide campaign, and the further activity we have planned sparks conversations amongst football fans up and down the country ahead of Christmas – support is there for you if you need it, so do not hesitate to speak to someone for help.”
Sonya Trivedy, executive director of external engagement at Samaritans, added: “One in four of us will have suicidal thoughts so it’s vital we tackle the stigma that prevents people from seeking support. That’s why we’re proud of our work with Tottenham Hotspur, which encourages us all to open up if we’re struggling.
“Sharing how you feel when you’re in crisis can seem scary, but that first conversation is the most important one. Last year, Samaritans answered more than a quarter of a million calls for help over the festive period and our volunteers are ready to take your call 24/7 if you’re struggling this winter, even on Christmas Day, so you don’t have to face things alone.
“If just one Spurs fan goes on to call us after seeing this video, it could help save a life.”
Watch the film:
Visit youtube.com/watch?v=TwJYqdKiEWw&t=29s
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