By Jill Stocks
Men’s suicide prevention charity Andy’s Man Club launches a new support group in Horsforth next week, the latest of more than 240 groups across the country.
Founded eight years ago in Halifax, the volunteer-led sessions held every Monday at 7pm attract almost 6,000 attendees and provide mental health support for men in a safe space.
The latest group in Horsforth begins on Monday, 10 March and will be held at Leeds Trinity University on Brownberrie Lane.
All of the sessions are free to attend. And the only rule at the sessions is “it’s ok to talk”. It is intended to provide a space to talk, or just listen, where men can open up without judgment.
Nathan Atkinson is one of the facilitators for the new Horsforth group. He said: “You can be there for others when they’re feeling down and you know they’ll be there for you when you’re at rock bottom.
“For me that’s the essence of Andy’s Man Club and why I go every week.”
Andy’s Man Club was formed by the family of Andy Roberts, who took his own life in 2016 aged 23. His mum Elaine Roberts and brother-in-law Luke Ambler set up the groups to provide a safe, non-judgmental, non-clinical environment where men could talk and try to overcome the cultural stigma surrounding men’s mental health.
According to the Office for National Statistics the suicide rate for males in 2023 was 17.4 deaths per 100,000, the highest since 1999. The age specific suicide rate, 25.5 deaths per 100,000, was highest for men aged 45 to 49.
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