There are real issues about mental health – and some local authorities are not dealing with them very well:
Those with mental health issues ‘not in priority need’ for temporary accommodation in Torbay
On the other hand, there are local initiatives trying to provide support:
A great project is happening in Newton Abbot:
Mental health crisis: How this Devon support group is saving men’s lives
“If it wasn’t for the Andy’s Man Club, I wouldn’t be here now”
A men’s mental health group which was set up following the tragic suicides of two young Newton Abbot men is already saving lives. Three men from Andy’s Man Club have said that if it wasn’t for the weekly support group, which was set up following the deaths of Matt Kenward and Kyle Deakin, then they wouldn’t be here now.
What started as a small support group in Halifax has ballooned into a Facebook group of thousands and now has other groups set up in the UK- including one in Newton Abbot which is held at Adam Fletcher’s restaurant LiAise Bistro…
“A couple of years ago I started feeling low and at the time mental health was just brushed under the carpet. I think it started when my partner got pregnant and the stress of my job was affecting me. I was just trying to please everyone. There was also complications when my son was born and everything just wore me down eventualy. I then gradually got worse and so I went to see a doctor and she could see I was declining. I broke down at the end of my bed one day, i just felt iI couldn’t do it, the little things terrified me.
“I started coming to Andy’s Man Club in December last year and it saved my life. I think knowing that you have got the support network there makes all the difference.”
The Andy’s Man Club is held at LiAise Bistro every Monday at 7pm.
Mental health crisis: How this Devon support group is saving men’s lives – Devon Live