A Redcar dad who twice tried to take his own life is to help provide more support for men struggling with mental health on Teesside. The plans have been boosted by a talk at The Wilton Centre from Andysmansclub , a charity set up eight years ago after 23-year-old Andrew Roberts from West Yorkshire took his own life. Andy’s family had no idea what he was going through.
The driving force behind a new branch of the club is going to be 36-year-old Matt Heap whose mum Lesley works at the centre. Redcar resident Matt has already visited Whitby’s Andysmansclub and is about to receive training to be a facilitator for the new group. The devoted father-of-two said he has very good reasons for wanting to help men who are struggling with their mental health.
Matt – who was a manager at Sabic and now runs his own successful business – tried to take his own life on two occasions. “I think I’d probably been suffering for a long time but I was still functional,” he said. “I didn’t recognise or accept that there was anything going on.
I was just going about my daily life probably causing problems to others around me who were able to see there was something wrong.” With the support of Sabic, Matt had access to the best possible care and, although still on medication, is now able to recognise when he is feeling “that way”. He said an Andysmansclub in Redcar is desperately needed and he will continue to share his story, adding: “I want to highlight that there is hope, g.
