ANDYSMANCLUB

WE BREAK DOWN

THE STIGMA OF MEN’S

MENTAL HEALTH

ANDYSMANCLUB has over 120 free support groups nationwide, running every Monday from 7 PM except bank holidays. In these groups, men can open up about the storms affecting their lives in a safe, judgement-free and non-clinical environment. Our clubs are designed to be free of pressure, there is no obligation for men to speak, they can simply listen if they wish.

With over 2800 men using our sessions every week, and an army of 900+ volunteers on board, the movement is continuing to grow week by week. We firmly believe in the power of talking and that #ItsOkayToTalk.

In mid-2016, nine men met in a small room in the stereotypical Yorkshire town of Halifax with the simple aim of talking through their issues and helping each other deal with their mental health. All in attendance agreed there was a magic in that room that had to be shared. This was the start of a movement that has grown faster than anyone first involved could have ever imagined. Fast forward 6 years and ANDYSMANCLUB now has groups at almost 100 locations across three counties of the UK.

ANDYSMANCLUB takes its name from Andrew Roberts, a man who sadly took his own life aged 23 in early 2016. Andy’s family had no inkling that he was suffering or struggling to the extent that he would do this, and as a result, looked deeper into male suicide and men’s mental health. They soon discovered that male suicide is the biggest killer of men under 50, with male mental health surrounded by well-ingrained cultural stigma in the UK.

Elaine Roberts and Luke Ambler are Andy’s Mum and Brother-in-Law, together they came up with the idea of ANDYSMANCLUB, a group where men aged 18 and above can speak openly about their mental health in a judgment-free, non-clinical environment. Groups now operate nationwide and are completely volunteer-led, with the vast majority of group facilitators having first interacted with ANDYSMANCLUB when they came through the door as service users.

With a service used every week by almost 2000 men, and an army of 500+ facilitators, the movement is always continuing to grow on a week-by-week basis.