Ten years ago, Burnley businessman Dave Scholes lost his best mate to suicide.
“I struggled with guilt for many years and as a result hid from my true feelings for a long time. It wasn’t easy, but with help and support, I started to talk more openly about how I was really doing," he said.
Since then, Dave has been seeking ways to encourage people to talk to their friends about what really matters.
“I’ll never know if I could have changed history, but what I found was a real value in honest conversation with my mates. Conversations in normal places like the pub or at the footy. They were helping me - but often it helped them too!”
Despite the multitude of social channels and networks, people are actually feeling less connected to their friends than ever before, a situation made worse & more obvious by the Covid pandemic.
Knowing how to help a mate who you feel may be struggling is never easy, and sometimes you are the one who is struggling and just needs a mate to call.
Monday 24th May saw the launch of a unique company - Six Connections Limited - seeking to encourage and inspire purposeful conversations, and meaningful connections.
Six Connections offers a range of products you can buy & send to your friends to let them know you are there and to encourage a chat - over a brew, some biscuits, or even a beer. And on every product, there is a QR code which sends you to their website www.sixconnections.co.uk to get help and advice.
At www.sixconnections.co.uk there are tools, tips, and stories to give you the inspiration you might need to help a mate.
Normal, straight talking, down to earth tools and tips. Real stories from people who have experienced real connection.
If people are in real need of help, Six Connections has collaborated with the Hub of Hope to deliver a postcode-based list of useful & relevant services, as well as immediate help through the Samaritans and Crisis.
“At Six Connections we do not claim to be experts in mental health, but we want to reignite those conversations we have all been missing at work, on the football terraces, at the gym, in the park or in a coffee shop…conversations where you truly connect with your mates and talk about what really matters”
NB: We recognise that the combination of mental health and beer might not be everyone’s cup of tea… and we get that. But this is about drinking sensibly and making sensible choices. Beer or a brew, the choice is yours.
A percentage of Six Connections profits will be donated to mental health charities every year.
For further information, please contact [email protected]