A STOURBRIDGE funeral director hopes to help prevent male suicide by hosting a new initiative aimed at helping men to boost their mental health.

H. Porter & Sons plans to launch a local Andy’s Man Club after noticing a rise in the number of young men taking their own lives.

The business, based in South Road, is seeking a small group of volunteers to take turns in running weekly meetings.

According to the Office for National Statistics, suicides have been going up for three consecutive years with 2023 recording a “significant increase” compared to 2022. In the final three months of 2023, there were 17 suicide deaths per 100,000 males, compared to 6.1 suicide deaths per 100,000 females.

Founded in 2016, Andy’s Man Club is a nationwide peer-to-peer support group that creates a relaxed and informal space for men to chat with one another over a cuppa.

It aims to end the stigma around male mental health and support men through conversation.

H. Porter & Sons is looking to recruit up to eight facilitators who would oversee weekly meetings at The Lounge function room, which is part of the 180-year-old funeral directors’ premises.

Director Lucy Porter said the initiative could play an important role in helping men struggling with mental health challenges.

She said: “The story of Andy’s Man Club is incredibly inspiring and has made a huge difference to thousands of men around the UK and beyond. Based on our experience as funeral directors, we believe Stourbridge would really benefit from the creation of a site too.

“In the past couple of years, we’ve seen a tragic increase in young men committing suicide, which is preventable when people get the help they need. We don’t want to see any more local families go through that pain and that’s why we want to start this group.”

She added: “We already have a number of facilitators signed up but want to get to eight people, as this will help reduce the time commitment and will ensure meetings can go ahead every week.”

Lucy hopes to run Andy’s Man Club on Monday evenings each week once the facilitators have been recruited. Training will be provided free of charge by Andy’s Man Club and further information can be found online at andysmanclub.co.uk.

To express an interest in supporting the creation of a Stourbridge Andy’s Man Club email lucyporter@hporter.co.uk.