A ‘SILENT crisis’ among boys and young men is to be debated in an open meeting organised by The New Saints FC Foundation.

The free community event – Generation Lost Boys - will be held at Oswestry Memorial Hall, in Smithfield Street, on Tuesday, March 12.

It will bring together a panel of experts to discuss what more can be done to support young people and particularly boys and young men in the area.

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Gill Jones, from the TNS Foundation, explained that the idea for the event had originally come out of a 10-week pilot programme delivered by the foundation in 2023 which aimed to demonstrate the potential impact of sport-based interventions as a diversionary tool to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour.

She added: “Our participation in this programme highlighted the fact that there appear to be more and more young men and boys who are seemingly disengaged, losing interest in school or feeling alienated from the communities they live in.

“We are not the experts, but we have a role to play, and we felt it was time to start a conversation with the leading voices in our community about the challenges facing young men and boys and what more can be done to support all of the young people of our town within limited financial resources.”

The panel will include psychotherapist and fitness instructor Kevin Braddock, co-founder of The Soma Space in Oswestry which offers physical movement sessions to improve mental health.

Kevin held an event covering similar issues – Walk, Breathe and Talk – in the Memorial Hall.

“Men’s mental health isn’t really talked about enough. The more conversations we can have on these issues, the better for all parts of our community,” said Kevin.

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Also on the panel for The New Saints FC Foundation community debate will be Justine Holdsworth of The Marches School and Helena Williams, Youth Support Team Manager at Shropshire Council plus other specialists to be confirmed.

Gill added: “The event is open to everyone across our community from parents and teachers to those who are part of the community sector and employers.

“If you have anything that you would like to add to the conversation, please come along or you can send in your thoughts before the event for discussion to info@tnsfcfoundation.co.uk”