Andy's Man Club
Andy's Man Club is a UK charitable organisation that coordinates weekly peer-to-peer support groups for men in the UK. It aims to help and improve mental health in men through self-help peer-to-peer interaction. The charity organises weekly 2-hour group talking sessions at over 270 venues across the UK, led by a trained group member known as a facilitator.
History
It was formed in 2016 by Luke Ambler and his mother-in-law Elaine after his brother-in-law Andy died by suicide. This led them to discover that suicide is the leading cause of death in men under 50 years old in the UK and that in this demographic there is a cultural stigma towards discussing mental health.The first meeting, held in Halifax, was attended by nine men. The charity has since set up groups in towns and cities across the UK and by February 2020 had over 800 men attending every week.
In 2021, it earned the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service.
In March 2024, Andy's Man Club meetings were attended by over 4,500 men across the country; 10% these were new to the meeting. this had risen to over 270 groups attended by 5,800 men.
Focus
The charity's slogan is "it's okay to talk" and it describes itself as "A bunch of blokes having a chat over a brew and biscuit". There are over 300 groups across the UK that meet each Monday from 19:00 to 21:00. Each group meeting is led by a volunteer 'group facilitator', who has been trained by the organisation to facilitate each meeting. Upon entry to a group session, free drinks and biscuits are offered to the attendees. The group meeting is arranged around five questions, with each attendee invited, but not obliged, to answer a single question in turn before repeating the process for the next question. The first three questions are always the same: "How has your week been?", "Name something positive from your week?" and "Anything to get off your chest?" followed by two questions that vary each week and are intended to promote positive discussion.Locations
There are over 270 locations in the UK that have a regular Andy's Man Club meeting: Some locations have multiple groups - Manchester has 5 groups within the city itself, and another 11 in the outer suburbs.- Aberdeen
- Abergavenny
- Ainley Top
- Alton
- Altrincham
- Arbroath
- Armadale
- Ashton-Under-Lyne
- Ayr
- Barnet
- Barnsley
- Barnsley North
- Barrow-in-Furness
- Basildon
- Bathgate
- Batley
- Berwick-Upon-Tweed
- Beverley
- Blackburn
- Blackpool
- Bolton
- Bournemouth
- Bradford central
- Bradford south
- Bridlington
- Brighouse
- Bristol north
- Bristol south
- Broxburn
- Burnley
- Bury North
- Bury South
- Cambridge
- Carlisle
- Castleford
- Chelmsford
- Chesterfield
- Chorley
- Cleckheaton
- Cockermouth
- Corby
- Cowdenbeath
- Crosby
- Cupar
- Dalgety Bay
- Deeside
- Dewsbury
- Doncaster Armthorpe
- Doncaster Central
- Doncaster Stainforth
- Dunbar
- Dundee East
- Dundee West
- Dunfermline North
- Dunfermline South
- Eastleigh
- Edinburgh Merchiston
- Edinburgh South Gyle
- Exeter city
- Exeter Wonford
- Eyemouth
- Fareham
- Featherstone
- Forfar
- Galashiels
- Gateshead
- Glasgow
- Glasgow Kelvin Hall
- Gleneagles
- Glenrothes North
- Glenrothes South
- Goole
- Gosport
- Grimsby
- Grimsby Albion Street
- Grimsby East Marsh
- Guildford
- Halifax Central
- Halifax North
- Harrogate
- Hartlepool
- Hebden Bridge
- Hemsworth
- Holmfirth
- Honiton
- Horden
- Huddersfield
- Hull Airco
- Hull Humber
- Hull Kingston Rovers
- Hull Sirius Academy West
- Hull University of Hull
- Immingham
- Keighley
- Kelty
- Kinross
- Kilmarnock
- Kilsyth
- Kirkcaldy
- Leeds College of Building
- Leeds Milford
- Leeds Pudsey
- Leeds Seacroft
- Leeds South
- Lichfield
- Littlehampton
- Liverpool
- London Euston
- Manchester
- Manvers
- Maryport
- Mirfield
- Merthyr Tydfil
- Methil
- Newcastle-upon-Tyne
- Newton Abbot
- Oldham
- Paignton
- Perth
- Peterborough
- Plymouth
- Plymouth Marjon
- Pontypridd
- Porthcawl
- Portsmouth
- Preston North
- Preston South
- Rhondda
- Rochdale
- Rosyth
- Rotherham
- Scarborough
- Scarborough Eastfield
- Selby
- Sheffield Central
- Sheffield North
- Sheffield South
- Southampton
- Southport
- Southend-on-Sea
- Stafford
- St. Andrews
- Sunderland
- Tadcaster
- Teignmouth
- Torquay
- Wakefield
- Warrington
- Washington
- Whitehaven
- Wigan
- Woking
- Wolverhampton
- Wrexham
- York
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