Andysmanclub, which holds weekly meetings in nearly 250 locations nationally, has only ten groups in the North East, a region with the highest recorded male suicide rate in England.
Teesside, thought to have the biggest problem in the region, only had groups in Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Stockton, and Whitby.
However, this will change later this month when Andysmanclub expands into Redcar.The charity’s logo (Image: Andysmanclub)
The charity had been considering Redcar for some time, but the real push for the new group began in May after a talk at the Wilton Centre by area lead Michael Chapplow.
The talk was organised by the centre’s guest experience host, Lesley Lince, and was attended by her son, Matt Heap.
The 36-year-old father of two, who was a manager at Sabic and now runs his own successful business, had twice tried to take his own life.
He said: “I think I’d probably been suffering for a long time but I was still functional.
“I didn’t recognise or accept that there was anything going on.
“I was just going about my daily life probably causing problems to others around me who were able to see there was something wrong.”
Mr Heap has been training with Andysmanclub for the past seven months and will be the facilitator at the new group in Redcar.
The first meeting will be on January 20, and the group will meet every Monday, except bank holidays, at the Redcar Coast Family Hub in Rainbow Lane from 7pm to 9pm.
All men over the age of 18 are welcome, and the charity also runs an online session at the same time for anyone unable to attend.
Mr Heap said: “I want to highlight that there is hope, given the right opportunity and meeting the right people.
“I imagine there are as many positive outcomes as negative – but we rarely see that.”
The charity was set up nine years ago after 23-year-old Andrew Roberts from West Yorkshire took his own life.
It aims to end the stigma surrounding men’s mental health, helping them through the power of conversation.
Michael Chapplow said: “I am so grateful for the opportunity to speak at the Wilton Centre and meet Matt who, I know, is going to help make such a positive difference to the lives of men in Redcar.”
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He added: “We know from our experience over nearly 10 years that opening up about your problems does help, but I still think – compared to women – men struggle to get things off their chest.
“That’s where we can help.”
As well as Andysmanclub, the Wilton Centre supports a number of charities including Zoe’s Place and Footprints in the Community.