Men's mental health charity Andy's Man Club set to open in Chorley

On Monday, January 31, the 73rd nationwide group dedicated to getting men to open up will operate from Victory Park Stadium.

The group will run every Monday night from 7pm, excluding bank holidays and is free-to-attend to any man over the age of 18.

Andy's Man Club 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.

Elaine Roberts and Luke Ambler - Andy’s mum and brother-in-law, came up with the idea for the club - a group where men aged 18 and above can speak openly about their mental health in a judgment-free, non-clinical environment.

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.

Fast forward six years and the club now has groups at over 70 locations across three constituent countries of the United Kingdom.

Groups now operate nationwide and are completely volunteer-led, with the vast majority of group facilitators having first interacted with the club when they came through the door as a service user.

With their service used on a weekly basis by over 1,000 men, and an army of over 400 volunteers on board, the movement is continuing to grow on a week by week basis.

Project Development Champion Andrew Greenway said: "We are delighted to be bringing our services to the men of Chorley! We've had a presence in Lancashire for quite some time now with groups running in Preston and Blackburn, and to open a third group in the county is an important step in our expansion!"

For more information or to attend the group contact [email protected].