A men's mental health support group has launched a second Stoke-on-Trent group in Meir, providing more men with a safe environment to speak up.

In addition to their originating group in the city at Port Vale FC, Andy's Man Club opened their second group at Foley Meir FC on Monday last week with nearly 50 men attending across the two groups.

On Monday (January 13), the charity saw 42 men attend with seven who walked through the door for the first time – the highest number of newcomers over one week the Stoke branch has ever seen.  

Dan Rowe, area lead for the West Midlands, said: "We know there are a lot of challenges that people are going through so having somewhere to meet with other guys who are also going through challenges, whether they're the same as yours or not, the opportunity to talk about that without judgement is something that I know everyone who attended on Monday really appreciates.  

"We appreciate that Stoke is a relatively big place and hard to get a about so we want to be as open and accessible to as many people as we can and after the success of the first group and the numbers we've had coming to sessions, we wanted to open a second group.  

Andy's Man Club supports roughly 6,000 men a week (Nub News).

"We see a range of people from guys in their 20s to guys who are probably in their 60s and 70s. 

"No matter what the issue is you'll meet a group of guys that won't judge you for those issues, and the chances are you'll need people that have either been through, or going through, what you are going through."

 Andy's Man Club supports roughly around 6,000 men a week and with the aim of eliminating the stigma surrounding mental health and create a judgment-free, confidential space where men can be open about problems in their lives.

Dan walked into an Andy's Man Club session for the first time seven years ago in Oldham and since then has gone on to open new clubs and is now the regional lead in the West Midlands. 

The charity has been in conversations about setting up a group at Meir Foley FC for two years and the organisers hope that a group here will mean those who can't easily travel to Burslem are still able to access support.  

Dan added: "The natural place to look was Meir, appreciating that there is a lot of challenge in that area as well and being able to support men across the city of Stoke is really important to us. 

"At Port Vale over the last six months we've averaged around 35 men attending each session which is a phenomenal number and we normally see around 4 or five people for the first time most weeks.

"And we're not stopping at two groups, in due course we are looking to probably open a third group because we appreciate Stoke is a big place and we want to be accessible to everyone in the city."

The originating Andy's Man Club is at Port Vale FC in Burslem (Wiki Commons).

On Monday (January 13) evening across the two groups in the city, Andy's Man Club saw 42 men including seven who walked through the door for the first time – the highest number of men attending sessions in Stoke than ever before.  

Dan explained that there can be a variety of things that people may struggle with following the Christmas period. 

Dan said: "Effectively we've seen more people turn up for the first time this week in Stoke for a good six months and we've seen more people walk through the door than we ever have done.

"January is always a busy month, I think there's a lot of pressure that comes with Christmas. 

"A lot of people associate Christmas with happy times and families and all that kind of stuff but the reality is, there's still a large proportion of the population, not just men, that really struggle at Christmas time. 

"Effectively we've seen more people turn up for the first time this week in Stoke for a good six months and we've seen more people walk through the door than we ever have done."

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