A NEW peer support group to help men with their mental health will be starting in Kidderminster on Tuesday, May 20.
The regular sessions, from 1pm to 3pm, are being run by We Are Men United.
They will take place at the Holy Innocents Community Hall, Stourport Road, Foley Park, between 1pm and 3pm every second Tuesday for 12 months.
The group, which has been funded by Community Housing and Travis Perkins, will support any man aged 18 and over who is struggling for their mental wellbeing and looking for support.
The service is free, discreet and respectful and, like the other groups operating in the Wyre Forest, strives to break the stigma of men seeking support, including them not being labelled or judged.
Matthew White, one of the founders of We Are Men United, said: “We look forward to welcoming men to our sessions, We’re there to help, support, guide and mentor and will be delivered by our vastly experienced mental wellbeing facilitator Tosh, supported by myself.”
He thanked the funding partners – Community Housing and Travis Perkins.
Local groups
There is a peer support group for dads and male carers which take place from 1pm to 3pm every second Tuesday at Brookside Family Hub, Borrington Road, Kidderminster. The next one is this Tuesday, May 20.
And there is an evening support group in Bewdley from 7.30pm to 9pm every second Thursday at Wribbenhall Community Centre, Shaw Hedge Road.
And, in Stourport, in conjunction with Wyre Forest Food Share and Community Cafe, there is a ‘Breakfast for the Boys’ at Linden Avenue, The Walshes. This features a free breakfast, tea and coffee and good conversation.
It takes place every two weeks with the next one from 10am to 12pm on Tuesday, May 20.
Matthew’s journey began in the early 2000s when, with a very successful career in hospitality and owning a pub/restaurant with rooms in the Lake District, he began to have his own issues. He said, while everything on the surface was perfect, the reality was very different. He was on a steady decline with his mental fitness and became severely clinically depressed and needed a lot of support to survive and then get better and understand a way to carry on.
“Surviving to live beyond these problems has taken more than 20 years, and I have managed to survive them, and as I say, I am now ‘qualified through living’ to support others,” he said.
Matthew has now made it his mission to support men with their mental fitness and wellness to be able to do the same – survive for now and look forward again with hope and aspiration.
Mental Health Awareness Week
This week is Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW) which began on Monday and runs until Sunday, May 12 to 18.
Shocking figures, from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), show 12.5 per cent of men in England have a mental health disorder and men are three times more likely to take their own life than women. People often turn to alcohol when they struggle to cope and double the amount of men die from alcohol-specific causes. The theme of this year’s MHAW is celebrating ‘community’ and highlighting the importance of it.
This fits in with We Are Men United’s ethos of men being there to help others who find themselves struggling and in similar situation.
Visit men-united.co.uk or facebook.com/we.are.men.united.cic or go to the Men United Facebook page for more information on the groups and the support available.
