At Rescue2 we work in high stress, male dominated environments where people are often away from home, working long shifts and pushing themselves far beyond what others can see. We understand the pressures these men carry because we have lived with those pressures in our own family.
For us, supporting men’s mental health is not a campaign. It is not a seasonal charity choice. It is the most personal commitment we have ever made as a business.
We support MenWalkTalk because countless men need places where they can talk before a crisis takes hold.
Shaun and Myra Jackaman’s perspective
Our dedication to men’s mental health comes from the deepest parts of our lives. We are a family who has lived through silence, struggle and loss. We have seen what happens when mental illness goes unseen, and we know how powerful an honest conversation can be when it happens in time.
We lost our eldest son, James, to suicide. He was a vibrant, thoughtful young man with so much potential, yet he carried pain he never voiced. There were no dramatic warnings, no obvious emergencies, just small changes that only made sense afterwards. When we lost him, our world changed in an instant. You never stop wishing he had felt able to speak. You never stop wondering what might have happened if he had found a truly safe place to talk.
A few years later, we tragically lost our younger son, Henry. His death was linked to diabetes, but behind that medical explanation was a long struggle with his mental health, shaped in part by the loss of his brother. He faced pressure, self doubt and the constant weight of managing a serious condition. It was a daily battle that many people never saw. Losing one son brings immeasurable pain. Losing two reshapes everything. It forces you to question what you thought you knew about life, illness and vulnerability.
Our story does not end with our boys. Shaun has lived with his own mental health challenges for decades. Twenty years in the Fire Service left him with PTSD. The experiences he witnessed stayed with him long after each job was over. There were years when sleep felt impossible; years marked by flashbacks and dissociation.
The loss of both our sons intensified everything Shaun had already been carrying. Grief did not sit separately from his trauma, it fused with it. When James died, it unleashed a storm of emotions and questions. When Henry died, it felt unimaginable that, as a family, we were being asked to endure this pain all over again. It was almost beyond belief.
The guilt, the questions, the powerlessness and the weight of two losses pressed into every part of Shaun’s life. There were days when the mental strain felt unbearable, and moments when his mind turned against him in ways he could not predict. The combination of PTSD, trauma and grief left him fighting battles no one could see from the outside. Talking, honestly and consistently, became the only way he stayed connected to the world around him. Therapy, and later support from a psychiatrist, played a crucial role in keeping him going.
In time came an ADHD diagnosis. The emotional highs that hit like a surge. The lows that made everything feel distant. The internal speed that others couldn’t see. Proper medication helped, but it did not remove the daily work. Shaun still manages it closely, every day. He talks. He shares. He reaches out. He leans on the people he trusts. Talking has kept him alive more than once. Silence would not have.
We speak openly because we want men to understand one simple truth: mental illness is exactly that, an illness. It is not a weakness. It cannot be ignored, outworked or outpaced. You would never tell someone with a severe physical condition to push through the pain and pretend it wasn’t there. Yet that is what many men feel they must do with their mental health.
The pressure to “be strong” is costing lives.
Our story has shaped who we are as a couple and as leaders of Rescue2. It has forged a real strength between us, built on resilience, honesty and positivity. It influences how we support our people, our support teams and the teams with boots on the ground. It shapes how we talk about mental health at work. And it underpins our decision to stand alongside MenWalkTalk as the charity we support.
If our commitment helps one man speak sooner, one family avoid the pain we live with, or one life stay here, then everything we share has purpose.
Simple support that reaches men where they are
MenWalkTalk is a UK charity that runs free walk and talk groups for men over 18.
Many men attend for weeks before speaking. That first moment of honesty is often life changing.
The charity’s biggest cost is training volunteers. These volunteers are the people who hold the space, notice changes in behaviour and signpost support when needed. Every donation helps create more of these groups and more places where men can talk long before crisis takes over.
Behind every statistic is a family like ours.
We share our story because silence does not save lives. Conversation does.
We spend every day working alongside hundreds of men in extreme conditions. Twelve hour shifts, confined space entry, breathing apparatus, heat, fatigue and long periods away from home create a perfect storm for mental health decline.
Many men on these sites will never outwardly admit that they are struggling. Some will keep pushing until they break.
This is why we are committed to making Rescue2 a place where talking is normal, encouraged and supported. This is why we want to improve mental health awareness at site inductions. It is why we want our technicians trained to notice when someone is withdrawing, exhausted or not themselves. It is why MenWalkTalk’s mission fits hand in hand with our industry.
Men often open up first to the people they trust at work. We want our teams to be ready for those moments.
We are supporting the charity in three key ways.
Ongoing help to train more walk leaders. Training a volunteer costs around £500, and every trained leader creates another safe place for men.
We will provide our training academy free of charge for volunteer training where possible. We will provide first aid training for walk leaders through our Rescue2 trainers.
We are strengthening our own mental health culture by
We want our teams to know that Rescue2 is a safe space to speak. There is no judgment here. Only support.
If you feel lost, overwhelmed or numb, we want you to know this.
You do not have to carry this alone.
You deserve support. Talking can save your life.
You are not weak for feeling this way.
You are human.
Safe places are waiting for you.
MenWalkTalk is one of them.
MenWalkTalk is not a crisis service. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, please call 999.
If you need someone to talk to now
Talking today can save tomorrow.
You can:
At Rescue2 our purpose has always been to create safe places and safe people. That includes the moments when a man takes his first step towards saying he is not okay.
Every life saved matters.
Every conversation matters.
Every walk matters.
Rescue2 works all over the UK. Location is not a problem for us and we can provide teams for smaller one day projects, and larger teams for complex contracts lasting months at a time.
Rescue2 Ltd, The Old Stables, Decoy Lane, Arundel Road, Poling, West Sussex BN18 9QA
