Andy’s Man Club to open Ripon branchAndy’s Man Club to open Harrogate branch

A new branch of Andy’s Man Club is set to open in Harrogate in January.

The male suicide prevention charity, which hosts free peer-to-peer sessions at locations across Yorkshire and the north of England, will open at Harrogate College.

The weekly sessions will begin on Monday, January 22, at 7pm and are open to men aged 18 and over.

The

branch has received the backing of Emmerdale actor Dominic Brunt, who plays Paddy Kirk in the soap.

He said:

“I’m overjoyed to let you know that there’s a new Andy’s Man Club opening in Harrogate, at Harrogate College.

“So see you there: it’s ok to talk.”

The arrangements for the new branch were led by Neil Waine, who appeared in an episode of Emmerdale earlier this year when the storyline focused on men’s mental health, and saw ‘Paddy’ seek out a local Andy’s Man Club for help.

The aim of the sessions are for men to talk through their issues and help each other deal with their mental health.

Mr Waine, who is project development champion at Andy’s Man Club, said:

“We are really excited to get going in Harrogate and delighted with the college’s support.

“We have been trying to open here for roughly twelve months and once we had the right team in place it was time to find a venue.”

The charity was founded 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.

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 150 locations.

For more information on the Harrogate branch, follow them on Facebook here or email info@andysmanclub.co.uk.

Read more:

 

Hopewalk in Valley Gardens marks suicide prevention charity’s 10th anniversary

The annual Hopewalk will take place in Harrogate‘s Valley Gardens this Sunday in support of Papyrus, a UK charity that aims to prevent suicide in young people.

Over the last six years Harrogate Grammar School has supported the event in memory of one of its students, Dom Sowa, who died by suicide in 2017.

Dom’s mother, Pat Sowa, has since become a campaigner for the charity.

This year marks the charity’s tenth anniversary and it is hoping the walks will be “bigger and better than ever”.

The walk will be held on Sunday (October 15) at 10am.

Participants meet at the entrance to Valley Gardens, walking through the Pinewoods and back again. To sign up click here. 

Read More:

 

Harrogate man hosts event to raise awareness of suicide prevention

An event with speakers and charities dedicated to mental health and suicide prevention is to be hosted in Harrogate next month.

The Hope for Life conference has been organised by The Jordan Legacy, a community interest company set up by Steve Phillip, from Harrogate, after his son died of suicide.

The aim of the conference is for people to come and listen to the experience and advice of experts and learn more about protecting your own or someone else’s mental health.

Speakers such as James Ketchell and Jonny Benjamin are there to spread the message of hope and share their own stories of overcoming challenges.

The Jordan Legacy was set up by Mr Phillip when Jordan took his own life in December 2019. It works with businesses to encourage workplace wellbeing and mental health training and to ensure they have people and facilities in place to support staff.

“We want everyone to leave feeling really inspired, we have inspirational speakers, actors, musicians all there to inspire people.

“We have had a mix of people book tickets; some work in mental health, some have lost people to mental health and some are facing their own challenges. Everyone is welcome.”

Read more:

The event takes place at the Pavilions of Harrogate on December 1. Tickets can be booked here.

The organisation has already begun planning for its 2022 projects, it hopes to reach out to local schools to talk to young people about mental health.

Mr Phillip said he was aware of the rise in anxiety in young people during the pandemic and felt the organisation could help offer students the tools to recgnise their struggles and seek help.

It also hopes to reach charitable status in the new year.

Harrogate mum raises awareness of suicide prevention after son’s death

Since Pat Sowa’s son, Dom, died of suicide in 2017 she has dedicated her life to helping people who are struggling with their mental health.

The Sowa family has lived in Harrogate for 23 years. Dom, a student at Harrogate Grammar School, was just 17 when he died.

Mrs Sowa said friends described Dom as “giggly with the kindest heart”. He played the saxophone and loved to be outdoors.

Looking back, she says she could see he was struggling; he had been withdrawing from friends and saying he felt “very sad”. But she said without the training she’s had now she didn’t know how to ask the right questions and help.

“It breaks my heart that I didn’t know the signs. I always say ‘we do our best but when we know more we do better’.

“And it’s true. Instead of people crossing their fingers or depending on the system to take care of their loved ones, through training they have the skills to know what to do to help.”

Dom Sowa

After losing Dom, Mrs Sowa left her job as a primary school headteacher and trained as a mental health first aid trainer.

She now works with North Yorkshire County Council in its Headfirst programme, which offers free mental health and suicide prevention training for anyone living or working in North Yorkshire, alongside her other work.

She is determined for more people to train as mental health first aiders. She says it is important for anyone struggling to feel as if they have someone who is their safe space to talk to.

Her mantra is:

“Get trained, save lives and be kind.”

Losing Dom turned the family upside down and Ms Sowa finds her work to promote suicide prevention has helped her “work through the devastation”.

Read more:

Ms Sowa also works closely with Papyrus, a charity dedicated to the prevention of youth suicide. It offers a helpline to people, runs training programmes and campaigns to get people talking about mental health.

Next weekend, Ms Sowa will join Dom’s former school, Harrogate Grammar School, on its fourth Hopewalk. It is part of a Papyrus initiative that includes a month of walks across the country to get people out and talking about mental health.

The four-mile route around Fewston reservoir takes place on October 17 at 10am.

Ged Flynn, chief executive of Papyrus, said:

“We would like to say a big thank you to Pat Sowa and all those who will we supporting the Hopewalk in memory of her son Dom.

“Every year Hopewalks raise awareness of suicide prevention and help us to continue giving hope to young people who are struggling with life.

“Generous fundraising and donations help to pay for potentially life-saving calls, texts and emails to our confidential HOPELINEUK service, which offers support and advice to young people and anyone who is worried about a young person who may be having thoughts of suicide.

“We believe that many young suicides are preventable and together we can all help to keep our communities suicide-safe.”

If you need support: