Luke’s Story: Inspirational Birmingham City Student has Helped 100s of People with their Mental Health

“I’ve seen friends go through hard times and struggle with their mental health,” says Birmingham City USW degree Student Luke Riley. “However, there are many ways to manage and improve your mental health – if only you can recognise the situation.” 

That is why Luke has made it his mission to raise awareness of mental health since 2018, when he was only 16, the inspirational student has helped hundreds of people by delivering mental health workshops. With the help of Birmingham City Community Trust, Luke visits schools, clubs, local business and teams delivering a workshop. Luke adds,

“I run the workshop for all ages from primary school children aged 10 to people in local businesses that are close to retirement age. Obviously, I tailor the message for each group, however, the part of the workshop which resonates most with all ages is when I draw from the experiences of my friends. That’s when people start to recognise that they might have a problem and come and ask me how they can get help.”

The initial spark for Luke’s workshops came while he was doing NCS (National Citizen Service) with Birmingham City Community Trust. NCS is an inclusive summer programme that helps young people get the skills, experience and self-belief they need to achieve their potential – and transition to adulthood. During the programme a number of sessions were delivered to young people giving them a wider understanding of life and opportunities they could experience in the future. A session with Tom Bates, a performance psychologist, inspired Luke to create his mental health workshop. He says,

“Listening to Tom just made me realise the importance of mental health and really empowered me to make a difference. So I spoke to Tom and developed the idea for the workshops”

After NCS Luke, who has supported Birmingham City from the day he was born, joined the University of South Wales course at Birmingham City’s Community Trust. For the lifelong Blues fan it was like a dream come true for him – doing his college work at St. Andrews and training at the club’s training facilities. During year 1 of the course, the students study modules including Football Event Management, Introduction to Sports Development, Introduction to Sports Science for Football, Football Coaching Theory to Practice, Technical Planning and Reflective Practice, & Academic Research study Skills. During his practical experiences on the BSc Football Coaching, Development and Administration degree, Luke has been able to interact with individuals of all ages and backgrounds, which has broadened his experience and further strengthened his ambition to help those in need.

Not only has Luke done great work with his the mental health workshops. Last Christmas, Luke and his girlfriend started a charity with the aim of raising money to give out as many selection boxes as they could, to give people something to open at Christmas. They raised around £450 in around 3 days with the support of Birmingham City Football Club and its Community Trust.

Luke is now looking forward to gaining his coaching badges and to go into the football management industry, whilst developing the charity they have set up. In the meantime, he will continue his work on the degree. He concludes:

“I want to continue to help raise awareness of the message that ‘it’s okay not to be okay’ and the best thing is to talk when you feel down. I want to deliver this message to people of all ages and to do my bit when helping others struggling.”