Heavy Minds: Men’s mental health group offers support in Armley

By Noah Roberts

A new men’s mental health peer support group has opened in Armley.

Jake Poll, 33, has just launched Heavy Minds, a new mental health peer support group for men – they meet on Thursday night at 7pm at Boom. 

Jake has a passion for supporting people and said he’s always “thinking about the local area and what he can do to affect positive change”.

Jake started a group for men because he wanted to “create a space that would break down the barriers and feel like a safe space for men to come together.” 

The peer group has been meeting for a month now and has regular attendees who come each week. 

It is a drop in space open between 7-9pm open each Thursday, there is no obligation for people to attend. Men can turn up at the venue, there is no pressure and no charge for attending. 

Jake is a care leaver, who has struggled with relationships and addiction issues. He is now five years sober.

“I am a participant,” he told WLD. “The space is for me as much as it is for other men. I am offering them a chance to come and explore their experiences. At the moment, society is very individualistic and it’s hard to escape that sense of competitiveness, but I think when we build community, we can empower each other.”

The group meets at Boom, a prominent Lmusic venue based on Canalside in Armley, Leeds 12. 

Boom is a venue for punk, metal and hardcore music.

Jake explained how important community is the scene, how people come and volunteer, working behind the bar, or as stewards to make events happen.

Jake wanted to replicate this sense of community in a men’s mental health group. “The music we listened to is very intense, it allows us to feel deeply. We are already tapping into those emotions through the music.” 

So the next logical step for Jake was to start providing a space for men to meet to start putting words to those emotions and experiences together. 

Jake said although people had more mental health awareness, the group is important because “it’s not enough to just ask a mate how are you?”

What if they say they are not okay?  “If you find your mate struggling, they can come to us. That’s what we’re here for. Often people ask someone how they are but they’re not equipped to deal with what they say next, that’s what we’re here” for men to come and have those “deeper chats, for them find a community, where they feel comfortable.”

The peer group has no set structure, so men can meet and talk about topics important to them.

Jake said he wants the group to be a place where men can be free to explore deeper issues impacting their mental health. Like what it is that is causing men to hurt and harm themselves or others.

Heavy Minds Leeds – Men’s mental health peer support group meets Thursdays 7-9pm, no cost, at Boom, Canal Cide community space, 5 Canal Place LS12 2DU.

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