Honiton: Andy’s Man Club starts tonight – come along!

Honiton Rugby Club will be hosting the first meeting of Andy's Man Club, which launches tonight at 7pm.

The weekly peer support group is part of a national charity, Andy's Man Club, which aim to help men cope with mental health challenges.

It was founded in 2016 in Halifax and has since spread across the UK. There are groups in over 100 locations and it has 1,800 members and 400 volunteers.

Andy's Man Club is named after Andrew Roberts, a man who took his own life in 2016. Andy's family and friends had no idea he was suffering or struggling to the extent that he was. The tragic events caused them to look at men's mental health in a new light, and they wanted to find out more about it.

They discovered that suicide is the biggest killer for males under the age of 50.

Elaine Roberts, Andy's mum, and Luke Ambler, his brother-in-law, came up with the idea of Andy's Man Club.

They wanted to remove the stigma attached to men's mental health and they sought to create a safe space where men aged 18 and above could speak openly about their feelings in a judgement-free and non-clinical environment.

Fast forward to 2022, and there are clubs all over the country which are led by volunteers, the vast majority of whom started off as members of the group.

Andy's Man Club will take place every Monday (excluding bank holidays) at Honiton Rugby Club.

The groups are free and there is no need to book.

You can read more about the charity here