Transcript
So, It’s Monday night, I’m down at Chesterfield Football Club with Peter from Andy’s Man Club, a club that you’ve got down here and over 300 across the country providing support for men. Just talk us through what actually goes on at Andy’s Man Club.
Ok, it’s really simple, we have two hours on a Monday evening, every club is exactly the same, we have a bunch of questions, we pass a ball round, it’s as simple as that. The idea is to get people talking about their problems. Men are, they are what they are, they don’t talk about their problems. Women tend to talk to each other, men don’t, get in the workplace men don’t talk to each other, so we give them that space to talk. Completely and utterly confidential so it’s Vegas Rules, nothing is spoken about outside of the group, so whatever someone wants to talk about, this is their opportunity.
I mean, I’ve just been in for the first hour of your session and it’s been brilliant to hear and there’s a real array of different perspectives given by people that have had real struggles this week to people being positive about their week. All of you that were involved in facilitating the group have originally come here as club members. If someone’s watching this and wondering whether it’s for them, who’s it for?
It’s for everybody, it’s for every man, over eighteen, male or identifying as male, whatever the case may be, that’s what we’re here for. The whole thing began because somebody took their own life and that’s how the club began and grew and our mantra is that if we can save one person, everything’s been worth it.
Obviously, we have seen the sign here, suicide being the biggest killer of men under fifty-four, there are people going through real tough situations now or in the past. Do you find that it’s when people are at their lowest ebb, that’s when they come or do you want to hear from other people who are maybe having a rough time but it’s not just suicide prevention, is it?
It’s not just suicide prevention, that’s the aim at the end of the day, to try and cut that down but we want to see people when they’re at a low ebb because we don’t want it to get to that point where people are really struggling, if we can get them through the door when they’re just a bit low that suits us fine.
So, if anyone feels like they might like to join, they just turn up here, do they on a Monday seven until nine?
Simply that, just turn up, we open at seven, all the clubs are the same, the doors open at about half past six, come in and get a free tea, coffee, sit yourself down and we start talking at seven o’clock.
Fantastic, well thanks very much and definitely encourage anyone who’s watching this who thinks it might be for them to come along, give it a go.