Potton men's mental health champion declared 'Winner of Winners' at community awards

Luke Newman, from Potton, is the founder of community support group ‘For Men To Talk’ and was recently declared ‘Role Model of the Year’, as well as the 'Winner of Winners’ at the prestigious event. The ceremony was held at Venue Central in Luton and the sixteen judges included the Chief Constable of Bedfordshire Police, Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue's Chief Fire Officer, Luton Borough Council's Chief Executive, the Chief Executive of Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce, a professor from the University of Bedfordshire, and Luton's two MPs, Rachel Hopkins and Sarah Owen.

Luke said: “What a privilege it is to win this role model award. But my role models are every single man, no matter if they attend regularly or just the once and talk about how they are feeling. Although what came at the end of the ceremony has left me speechless.”

Luke set up ‘For Men To Talk’ in December 2019, after suffering from grief and anxiety after the losses of his mother Jen Newman, aged 54, in 2005 and his sister Heidi Melrose aged 44, in 2015. He wanted to provide a safe and comfortable environment for men to be able to talk about any mental health illness that they suffer with.

Luke added: “I haven’t built ‘For Men To Talk’ to win accolades or awards. I’ve built it to give men opportunities to talk about they feel. But I am extremely honoured, humbled and proud of both of these recognitions, I’ve worked so hard. More importantly it acknowledges the need for men's mental health groups.”

The Luton and Bedfordshire Community Awards is an annual ceremony, celebrating the unsung heroes of the community and applauding those that that seek to make the lives of others, easier, happier and more fulfilled. Luke’s Luton and Bedfordshire Community Awards follows his ‘Make A Difference Award’ from BBC Three Counties Radio in September 2022 and marks "an incredible year" for ‘For Men To Talk’ .

The group now has nine meetings in total per month, in Biggleswade, St.Neots and Gamlingay in Cambridgeshire, including virtual meetings via zoom. ‘For Men To Talk’ can be found on their website www.formentotalk.co.uk and social media channels.