A men's suicide prevention charity opened their new branch in Corby on Monday (April 15).
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00:00 So Andy's Man Club was started in 2016. Andy Roberts was aged 23 and he took his own life.
00:16 Luke, his brother-in-law and Andy's mum Elaine decided that there was a need for a space
00:21 for guys to talk. If Andy had talked it wouldn't have ended that way. Andy's Man Club is every
00:33 Monday 7am-9pm. It started in Halifax, 9 guys turned up that first night. We now have over
00:40 180 clubs across the UK. The core will be opening tonight. It's that safe space where
00:49 guys can come along, get stuff off their chest and keep that pressure pot down. Be able to
00:55 look forward, look forward to the future, look forward to hope. It's a real special
01:01 place where it is okay to talk. So, Corby come about due to the fact that we have a
01:10 club in Stamford, a Stamford Rugby Club and a few of the guys live over this way. They've
01:18 been attending the club for some time now and decided that it would be good to open
01:23 a club in Corby and reach out to that next guy. Our ultimate aim is to have a club within
01:29 30 minutes of every guy across the UK. Another club open tonight is reaching out to that
01:38 one man to walk through that door. While it's tough to walk through that door on a Monday
01:46 night that first time, once you're in here, you can sit in that circle and just unload
01:54 a bit of what's going on in your life. You'll arrive at the club, you'll be greeted by one
02:00 of us as a facilitator team. Welcome in, space, walk in, have a cup of tea, have a biscuit.
02:08 We will have that tea and biscuit and have a chat. Then we sit in a circle and we pass
02:14 the ball around. We have five questions each week. The first three questions stay the same
02:20 every week. That's how's your week been? A positive from your week and anything to get
02:26 off your chest. Then the last two questions are designed to let you leave on a bit of
02:32 a lighter note. Be able to leave with a smile on your face. They're usually around your
02:40 wellbeing or being able to watch your favourite movie quote, watch your favourite TV programme.
02:49 If you had a billboard, what would you put on it? What message would you put on it? Those
02:54 sort of things create a bit of a lighter mood in the place and create that brotherhood,
02:57 that friendships that we all know is so important in our lives. The reception's been fantastic.
03:05 We've been round Corby Town Centre etc. yesterday afternoon and it was really positive. Guys
03:12 were saying it's exactly what we need. Women were saying, yeah, it's exactly what Corby
03:16 needs. Somewhere for guys to be able to go and talk, give them a bit of purpose on a
03:20 Monday night to come and share what's going on in their lives or what they've been carrying
03:25 for some time. I'd been going to Andy's Man Club for about six months. I then decided
03:30 that the amount of impact it's had on me, I wanted to help others. So I became a facilitator
03:35 and that was a massive thing for me, not just helping myself, but seeing me potentially
03:41 helping others. I always knew I wanted to start something up in Corby. I felt like it
03:45 would make a really big positive impact. I spoke to Stuart at the end of last year saying
03:52 as soon as we get into 2024, I'm giving you my accountability. I'm giving you my word.
03:56 I want to get this started for myself as well, because I want to help others, but also for
04:02 people in Corby and the surrounding area to try and help them as much as I can. So yeah,
04:08 it was a lot of hard work, a lot of asking people for favours, but people have been so
04:13 kind and generous with their time and their resources and helping us out of this place.
04:18 And yeah, we're finally here and we're ready to start helping little by little. People
04:23 have been so passionate and so enthusiastic. I suffer from anxiety myself and having people
04:31 come up to me when I say to them, that's a lot for me to overcome, be like, we're doing
04:35 this, do you want to help us? And the amount of positivity we've had has been so heartwarming.
04:41 It has really helped me to know that people do want this and people know it's needed.
04:48 And knowing that it's going to have the positive impact, not that it's just had on me, but
04:52 being able to replicate that for other people. So yeah, people have been so enthusiastic
04:58 and we've been really grateful for that, that they've been welcoming us in.
05:02 When I first learned about Andes, it took me about a month to come in and even then
05:05 I couldn't come in by myself. So a lot of lads do and that takes a lot of guts. That
05:11 is a hard drive, it's a hard walk, it's a hard however they get in. So I don't blame
05:17 them for being nervous, but what I will say is you're going to have a group of lads that
05:22 will welcome you. They're going to feel and think a lot the same as you with issues, like
05:26 you're not going to be alone in feeling how you feel or thinking how you think. So just
05:32 remind yourself of that, that you're not alone and that we want to help. We feel really good
05:38 when we can help others. That's the dopamine hit that we get as well from not just helping
05:43 ourselves and making ourselves feel better, but seeing others improve. That's been a massive
05:48 thing for me, that's why I've tried to set this place up. But yeah, just give it a shot.
05:54 If it's not your thing, the worst that can happen is that I've tried my best at something,
06:00 but if it does work for you, it could be life changing.