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07
Feb
Every Monday evening at 7pm, men arrive at Harrogate College to have a chat with a coffee and a biscuit.
While it may seem mundane, the same is happening at 172 other locations across England at the same time.
Andy’s Man Club was set up with the simple goal of helping men to talk through their issues and help each other deal with their mental health.
Its latest club at Harrogate College was set up in January and saw 63 people attend on its first night.
The Stray Ferret paid a visit this week and spoke with its facilitators Andy King and Jonathan Clipston prior to their third session of the year.
Meanwhile, Jonathan first attended an Andy’s Man Club meeting in York in April 2022 and later trained as a facilitator for the charity.
He suffered a serious car accident some 30 years ago which led to his right arm being amputated below the elbow.
The charity itself was set up by Elaine Roberts and Luke Ambler after Andrew Roberts, Elaine’s son and Luke’s brother-in-law, took his own life aged 23 in 2016.
Actor Dominic Brunt, aka Paddy from Emmerdale, has backed Andy's Man Club's new Harrogate branch.
It held its first session in Halifax, Andrew’s hometown, and now helps to support more than 3,000 men on a weekly basis at more than 170 locations.
Harrogate, which became the 173rd location, was launched with the backing of Dominic Brunt, who plays Paddy Kirk in television soap Emmerdale.
The response has been dramatic. Some 63 men attended the branch on its first night and 47 on its second - 18 of which were attending Andy’s Man Club for the first time.
He says part of the reason for the sessions is to let the men speak in their own time. But it's also to create an affinity with each other.
The following day, the Harrogate club posts that 44 men attended the meeting — 11 of whom came to Andy’s Man Club for the first time.
On its website, the charity describes itself as “a bunch of blokes having a chat over a brew and biscuit”.
But, for some, it is much more than that.
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