Retail park buys into men's health message with further support
Charity partners with Parkgate Shopping to ''re-emphasise” health message
A retail park has renewed its support for a men's mental health charity after Andy's Man Club in Rotherham took a stand – literally – at Parkgate Shopping.
Parkgate Shopping's senior operations manager Mark Kanaris-Sotiriou first pledged to support the “vital” work of AMC last year, granting the group the opportunity to provide banners outside the retail park as well as on the platform of the Tram-Train station stop to raise awareness.
The AMC Rotherham team – including facilitator Les Elvin – had a stall at the retail park for a weekend, and invited people to come along and find out more.
Established in 2016 by Luke Ambler, whose brother-in-law took his own life, the clubs aim to break the stigma surrounding mental health and support men aged 18 and over to be open about the issues in their lives in a judgment-free, confidential space.
In Rotherham, the groups meet every Monday evening, except Bank Holidays, with AMC currently offering support sessions including at AESSEAL New York Stadium, Tesco Community Space on Drummond Street as well as in the Dearne Valley at Swinton, Goldthorpe, Wombwell, and Conisbrough.
Mark Kanaris-Sotiriou, senior operations manager at Parkgate said: “We’re incredibly proud to be supporting Andy's Man Club again at Parkgate to raise awareness of the support available to men struggling with their mental health and to re-emphasise the charity’s main message – ‘it’s okay to talk’”.
Facilitator Les Elvin said: “Mark and the team at Parkgate are really fantastic people who are very understanding and we can't thank them enough for their continued support.”