More men across South Yorkshire will be able to access free peer-led support thanks to the launch of two new Andy’s Man Club groups.
A group at Kiveton Park’s Old Colliery Offices starts on Monday 13th January and another will open at Conisbrough Library two weeks later on the 27th.
The men’s suicide prevention charity will now have 15 groups across South Yorkshire. Nationally, there are around 230 groups, having increased significantly in recent years since the charity launched in 2016. Each week, over 5,800 men attend nationwide.
In Rotherham, there are four other established groups at The Centre Brinsworth, Brooklands Club in Maltby, Manvers Community Fire Station, and Tesco Drummond Street.
In Barnsley, there are three groups: Honeywell Sports Centre, Library @ The Lightbox in the town centre, and Wombwell Library.
All clubs meet at 7pm each Monday, except for bank holidays. The weekly meetings are a chance for men to talk about any storms they’re currently going through or ones they are brewing.
Whether you’re having a bad day, bad week or bad month, or you’ve been through it and want to encourage others that things do get better, Andy’s Man Club is there for you.
It’s often said that men don’t talk about their problems. But men will talk if given a safe space to do so. However, there’s no pressure to talk; it’s just as okay to listen to others.
The five questions that are asked each week are designed not only to encourage men to talk, but to start to focus on the positives and on strategies to keep moving forward.
There’s no referral, no registration, no charge, no judgement, no counsellors. Just normal blokes with normal lives meeting up for a brew and a biscuit.
All the guys running the clubs are volunteers who have used and continue to use the groups for their own needs. They know just how hard it is to make that first step.
But they also know how important it is to end the stigma surrounding men’s mental health.
On average one man takes his life every two hours in the UK. That’s why Andy’s Man Club was started in 2016 by Luke Ambler, whose brother-in-law Andy died by suicide.
Andy’s family had no idea that he was suffering or struggling to the extent that he would take his own life. As a result, they looked deeper into male suicide and men’s mental health, discovering that male suicide is the biggest killer of men under 50 and a well-ingrained cultural stigma of male mental health in the UK.
If you’re a man over 18 and want to get stuff off your chest, have some company, and even have a laugh or two, all it takes is that first step through the door.
And remember: #ITSOKAYTOTALK
Find your nearest group at www.andysmanclub.co.uk
