"The first club I wanted to help was Sheffield Wednesday" - Ex-Owl Will Vaulks launches initiative at S6
Former Sheffield Wednesday player of the year Will Vaulks has certainly not forgotten the club.
Players and staff of a range of ages at Sheffield Wednesday are to receive the benefit of important suicide prevention and awareness training - thanks in great part to a popular ex-player.
Promotion-winning midfield man Will Vaulks spent two years at Hillsborough, playing a major part in the side that came through the most dramatic of play-off campaigns to re-join the Championship in 2023 before taking home the fan-voted player of the season award the following year.
Now captaining his hometown club Tranmere Rovers, Vaulks has long since been a passionate advocate for mental health provision having tragically lost both grandfathers to suicide in his younger years. The Wales international became an ambassador for the ‘The Baton of Hope’ charity during his time at S6 and a new initiative has committed to delivering vital suicide awareness training to all departments at Hillsborough, including the academy and first team.
A press release stated that ‘by signing the pledge, the Owls commit to ensuring a psychologically safe and supportive work environment, whilst spreading key suicide prevention messaging to our supporters.’
A tireless campaigner across many years, Vaulks won the FIFPRO Player Voice Award last year and was awarded a grant by the PFA with which to pilot the pledge at an English club. Explaining why he chose Wednesday, the 33-year-old said: “When I received PFA funding, the first club I wanted to help was Sheffield Wednesday. They’ve obviously been through a lot in the last few years as a football club and I had two great years there as a player, so it just felt right to give back.
“I want to thank the PFA for supporting me with the funding and I’m very much look forward to this collaboration.”
The Owls are a club that collectively have been through a great deal together in recent years, with the stresses of off-field pressures hitting employees in the pocket and mentally alongside spiralling fortunes on the pitch. Under new ownership and pressing on to what looks to be a brighter future, the importance of discussion around mental health - as well as effective training to spot the signs of someone struggling - remain vital.
Wednesday club captain Liam Palmer said: “We’re all aware of the alarming statistics surrounding suicide, so I’m very pleased to see the club joining this important initiative and look forward to taking part in the sessions.
“In my time as a player, the attitudes towards discussing your emotions as a young man have improved, but there’s always more we can all do, so to spread the message across the Sheffield Wednesday family is another leap forward.”
Wednesday’s cross-city rivals Sheffield United are among the clubs to have also signed the pledge, offering a joined-up view on the importance of such a scheme across the area. In an open letter published to the FIFPRO website in promotion of the programme in November, Vaulks touched on the success the scheme has had at Oxford United, his former club where the inititive was launched.
“Members of the Baton of Hope presented to the players and just opened the conversation of mental health within the team – it was an inspiring experience,” Vaulks’ letter read in part. “Since then, team-mates have begun to reach out to each other and share about their lives and struggles.
“It’s made our workplace so much more empathetic. It means everything to me when a team-mate confides in me about their feelings, knowing that we’ve created an atmosphere that gives them the courage to be vulnerable enough to ask for help.
“It's something both my grandfathers didn’t have, and without it they reached a point of desperation they couldn’t recover from. My family and I will always wish that they had reached out to us, so that we could have helped them through whatever pain they were dealing with alone.
“I want to encourage as many people in the world to share those thoughts and ask others to do the same, so that no one has to experience the agony of wondering. Suicide awareness encourages us not only to reach out, but how to help when someone does, and knowing when to signpost them to professional support.”
Mike McCarthy, founder of The Baton of Hope, said: “It is heartening to welcome Sheffield Wednesday to the Baton of Hope Workplace Pledge. With Sheffield United also having signed up, both of this great city’s major football clubs are showing a shared commitment to suicide prevention.
“Despite greater awareness of mental health, far too many lives are still lost to suicide. By helping staff, players and supporters recognise when someone may be struggling and know how to respond, these clubs can make a real difference across Sheffield and beyond.”