Bazunu and Aribo share the joy with men's mental health group

A group of Saints By Your Side participants — all huge Saints fans — joined our team at Staplewood Training Ground, where they were greeted by Southampton FC men’s first-team players Gavin Bazunu and Joe Aribo, who opened up about their own mental health.

Tsvetelina Georgieva, Health and Wellbeing Coordinator, said: “This time of year can be particularly tough. We often think of athletes as being untouchable to these things, so to hear they go through similar struggles and emotions helps to normalise it.”

One of the people on the tour was Toby, a 48-year-old Saints season ticket holder and former Saints By Your Side participant. Toby joined the programme in May last year following a self-referral.

A few years before self-referring, Toby had sustained a serious head injury which affected his memory, physical health, and confidence. During the programme, Toby was one of the first to open up in the very first session, which encouraged other men to feel confident sharing their own challenges.

He particularly benefited from walks around the pitch, which allowed him to get his steps in while catching up with peers and staff, side by side.

Toby said: “I wouldn’t be going out and doing as much or mixing with people. I’m now socialising more. I’ve been more able to talk about how cancer has affected my life, and now I feel more able to open up when I need to.”

Toby now regularly attends the monthly Saints By Your Side catch-up sessions for people who have completed the programme, where he reconnected with Alan — a friend he had lost touch with years ago.

Alan Smith is a 51-year-old man from Southampton who self-referred to our programme earlier this year. A lifelong Saints fan, he was at a game earlier in the year, when he heard one of our staff and a participant being interviewed pitch-side pre-game.

Alan related to the participant’s story. After going through a tough period about a year prior, he knew he needed to reach out to Saints Foundation. Following contact from our team, Alan attended his first session in February. During a session with guest speakers from gambling helpline provider GamCare, Alan opened up about past struggles with gambling.

After the session, he told staff that he had reached out to the organisation. Alan said: “I think it’s helped me deal with challenges that I have to overcome.”

Both Alan and Toby now meet for breakfast weekly at St Mary’s own pub, The Dell, where staff sometimes drop in to have a coffee and catch up with them.

Health and Wellbeing Project Officer Jack Dyer reflected on their journey: “It was great to see the guys’ progress from their individual groups to reconnecting and supporting each other with a renewed confidence to talk about mental health challenges.”