Applications opened today, 21 November, for the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Men’s Mental Health Fund.
The £715,000 fund supports projects across York and North Yorkshire designed to help increase and support men’s mental health activities in the community, workplace, and service settings.
This comes as the next stage of Mayor Skaith’s £7m Moving Forward campaign which is dedicated to creating a healthier and thriving York and North Yorkshire.
David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire said,
“Men are dying too young, too often. That’s a national disgrace and it’s incumbent on leaders to take action. Today I’m launching my Men’s Mental Health Fund and a new campaign to do just that.
“This isn’t a nice to do, it’s essential. When people are healthier, communities are wealthier.
“That’s why I am launching Shift Your Focus. Practising mental fitness, changing our routine, talking to friends, and getting active. These help to ensure that we don’t reach crisis point and are at the heart of this new campaign.”
‘Shift Your Focus’ aims to highlight every day, actionable steps that men and their support systems can take to help improve their mental fitness. This might be as simple as mixing it up and trying something new or getting up and being active.
As well as ‘Shift Your Focus’, there is a Men’s Mental Health investment fund which aims to support interventions that help create a more mentally fit York and North Yorkshire. The funding will look to target rural access, tackle stigma through male friendly engagement, promote workplace mental health, invest in support for young people, especially neurodivergent young people, and enhance digital presence and clarity of services.
Paul Galdas, Men’s Health Professor at The University of York and Chair of the Men’s Mental Health Taskforce said:
“This isn’t just about raising awareness for men’s mental health or encouraging men to talk. It’s about meeting men where they are, adapting our services to fit the unique needs of men in our area, and ensuring that every man, from urban to rural areas can feel the benefit. By improving men’s mental health, we improve the lives of individuals, their loved ones, entire communities, and our economy.”
The Men’s Mental Health fund is open for applications till Friday, 2 January 2026.