‘Encouraging and wholesome’ men’s mental health group expands to offer brand new weekly session in Northampton

An “encouraging and wholesome” men’s mental health group has expanded to offer a brand new weekly session in Northampton.

The Man Cave UK, a support group founded in Milton Keynes in February last year, is now expanding to the surrounding areas after seeing such a demand.

The first Northampton meet up was held on Tuesday (January 23) and one of the group leaders, Liam Rose, spoke to the Chronicle & Echo about what anyone interested needs to know.

The group was founded by Scott Poulter and Liam began as a member. As he and Scott have experience in recovery, they wanted to create something for all men going through all different types of problems.

Scott and his five leaders are in the process of making The Man Cave UK a charity and have already done a number of mental health talks at big name brands – including Nissan, Redbull and Natwest.

“It doesn’t feel like there’s a space available for men to be themselves,” said Liam, when asked why the support group was launched. “We go through a unique set of problems compared to other groups.”

The attendees have found comfort in being surrounded by other men all going through their own troubles and having the space to be listened to.

The sessions begin with the rules and regulations, reiterating that “nobody’s problem is worse than anyone else’s” and the aim is not to solve someone’s problem across the room during discussion – it is for them to be listened to.

In the half an hour after the discussion, in which they can socialise, advice can then be offered if anyone would like to reach out to another attendee.

Liam said: “It’s the place for men to progress together, as opposed to going to the pub for a drink. There’s no solution at the bottom of a pint.

“It’s about having somewhere that’s encouraging and wholesome to go, to try to solve our problems and not blame the world. We support and stand by each other.”

The group has accumulated more than 400 members over the past year and the biggest meeting to date has allowed 88 men to talk out and solve their problems.

When asked why the decision was made to expand the group outside of Milton Keynes, Liam said: “We got to a point where we were seeing a lot of people in one room, and we wanted to give them the space and time to talk.”

As there is nothing like this on offer elsewhere, the organisers found people were travelling from the areas they have since set meetings up in – such as Northampton, Bedford and Bicester.

“It’s a free service available once a week without fail,” added Liam, who says they hope to host more events when they become a registered charity.

The first aim is to organise a family fun day, with stalls, stands, mental health services and the opportunity for the families of the ‘mancavers’ to see what the group is all about.

Liam says the first Northampton session was “just incredible”. Though it started off quietly as people did not know what to expect, “really powerful” stories were shared by the end.

48 men attended the first Northampton meeting and Liam anticipates it will grow quickly with the traction it has gained on social media. The post about the first session was shared more than 600 times alone.

“We want to advance this group to make it as big as possible,” said Liam. “We’ve seen so much vulnerability and support, it’s important.”

When asked what message he would like to send to Chronicle & Echo readers about the importance of men putting their mental health first, Liam said: “You can’t help anyone else unless you help yourself.

“Spending a couple of hours a week being around others helping themselves is only going to improve your own mental health.

“We want to show we’re all important and sometimes for men it’s hard to talk. Being around other men who can talk will help.”

The Northampton meetings will now take place every Tuesday from 7pm until 9pm at the Wootton Community & Sports Centre in Curtlee Hill.

If you attend, you do not have to share anything and you can simply sit and listen to what others have to say.

For more information on The Man Cave UK, visit the support group’s Facebook page here.