Football fans are being encouraged to seek early help if they are struggling with their mental health.
Hartlepool United has teamed up with the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV) to launch the Poolies Matter initiative focusing on mental health.
Led by the trust, it offers practical help for those experiencing anxiety, loneliness or depression and features real stories from Pools supporters and community groups to encourage others to ask for help.
Ed Parkinson, of the trust and who came up with the idea, said he wanted people to know their mental health well-being “mattered”.
The campaign is backed by Hartlepool United Supporters Trust, Heart Of Our Club 1908, The Corner Flag, The North West Corner, Her Game Too, Hartlepool United Disabled Association, and South East Poolies.
Hartlepool was the only local authority in the Tees Valley to record an increase in suicides from January to June 2025, rising from 4.7 to 5.9 per 100,000 deaths.
“We did a campaign at work called ‘You Matter’ how a lot of mental health patients say that they feel no-one cares about them and they don’t matter,” Parkinson said.