{"id":5152,"date":"2021-05-06T12:02:48","date_gmt":"2021-05-06T12:02:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/cardiffnewsplus\/?p=5152"},"modified":"2021-05-06T12:02:50","modified_gmt":"2021-05-06T12:02:50","slug":"barbershop-owner-launches-mental-health-foundation-to-help-local-men","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/cardiffnewsplus\/barbershop-owner-launches-mental-health-foundation-to-help-local-men\/","title":{"rendered":"Barbershop Owner Launches Mental Health Foundation to Help Local Men"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The owner of a barber shop in Pontypridd has launched a foundation to help support men\u2019s mental health. The Lost Boys Club Foundation aims to raise money<\/strong><\/a> for sports clubs and small businesses to access mental health awareness courses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Josh Downes struggled with his own mental health from an early age and contemplated taking his own life. When he opened the Lost Boys Club barber shop in Pontypridd he realised that he wasn\u2019t alone, and that many men in the area were struggling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data from the Office for National Statistics has shown that male suicide figures in Wales are at their highest in two decades. Josh realised that a lot of the mental health problems had stemmed from regular drug use, and has since launched a podcast<\/a> discussing the link between drugs and recent suicides. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said, “We talk about stuff that most people don’t want to talk about. Going out on a bender and waking up feeling like death is normal, we want to give people information about these things.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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