West Ham United U21s were proud to display their support for R;pple Suicide Prevention ahead of their match against Manchester United.
The development team warmed up in t-shirts showing support for R;pple ahead of last Friday’s Premier League 2 game versus the Red Devils.
An online tool that has been implemented across West Ham United, R;pple was set up by lifelong Hammers fan Alice Hendy, who lost her only sibling Josh to suicide at just 21 years of age in November 2020.
Alice was a special guest of the Academy at Friday’s fixture at Rush Green Stadium, and expressed her gratitude to the Club for the support shown to her and R;pple.
“What a fantastic honour it was to see the U21s squad warming up in R;pple Suicide Prevention t-shirts," she said. "Raising awareness of positive mental health and ensuring people feel hope is more important now than ever before.
"The occasion was particularly poignant for me as I have such fond memories of watching West Ham with my little brother, who I lost to suicide. I’d like to thank the Club for their ongoing support towards myself and R;pple, it’s heart-warming to see the Club prioritising mental health and suicide prevention for their players, staff and fans in the community.”
West Ham want to support R;pple to ensure that immediate mental health support and resources are immediately available to people when required, which can ultimately save lives.
Kenny Brown, Academy Manager, said: "It was important to the squad that we showed our support for R;pple on Friday and I hope that, by wearing the t-shirts during the warm-up, the team were able to raise awareness around suicide prevention and mental wellbeing.
"R;pple has been implemented across the Club and it is really important that any person who searches for harmful content online has those returned results intercepted and are then directed towards help and assistance. It is no exaggeration to say R;pple has the power to save lives and we are proud to be using it across our Academy."
Kate Spencer, Safeguarding manager for the Academy of Football, said: "Friday night’s fixture against Manchester United provided a great opportunity to continue our partnership with R;pple Suicide Prevention tool and raise awareness around the importance of creating safe spaces for our players, staff and fans to seek support and talk about their mental health.
"A key principle of our safeguarding ethos is early intervention and prevention, and this tool embodies that and works together with other charities we are involved with as part of our 360 Hammers program which is delivered to all Academy players.”
More information is available at www.ripplesuicideprevention.com.