Community Engagement

Reaching out to individuals and groups through our Community Engagement Programme is integral to the ethos of Teac Tom. The team at Teac Tom has worked with businesses, schools, and sports clubs throughout the country. Based on our experience, we have identified that reaching out to young people in the community to provide early intervention and education on mental health, is an effective approach.

Our goal is to have a positive impact on the mental health of our community now and into the future through talking, listening and breaking down the barriers that so many people experience.

Teac Tom’s Founder and CEO Angela Hayes has a very personal and tragic story of dealing with suicide.

Every community engagement talk we do is rooted in Angela sharing this story.
Whether addressing young people or adults, in a school, club or workplace, Angela’s story has an impact on everyone who hears it. We strive to de-stigmatize mental health issues and facilitate discussions with a positive outcome. To date we have had extensive and very positive feedback from those who have participated in these talks.

Teac Tom’s Worry Box Project.

Through our Community Engagement process we have developed a simple, but effective tool to facilitate conversations around mental health, in particular the importance of talking and sharing a problem.

‘The Worry Box’ allows people to express their thoughts and to write down their questions or concerns anonymously. The act of writing down a ‘worry(problem?)’ on paper, is the first step for many people towards accepting they have an issue.

To ensure the safety and wellbeing of the young people attending the talk, a trained counsellor is part of the team to answer any questions that may arise.

Mood Dudes

Bringing Mental Health Support Directly to Young People

Building on the success of in-school initiatives such as The Worry Box and mental health awareness talks, Mood Dudes is an innovative outreach programme developed by The Thomas Hayes Trust to deliver vital mental health supports directly to schools and underserved communities.

Designed to improve accessibility and enable early intervention, Mood Dudes takes a proactive, community-based approach—meeting children and young people where they are, at the earliest point of need. By providing timely support, the programme helps prevent challenges from escalating and promotes positive, long-term wellbeing.

At the heart of Mood Dudes is a mobile outreach model, allowing the team to travel directly to schools and community settings. This flexible approach ensures consistent, reliable access to supports, particularly in areas where services may be limited.