Kathleen Martin

Said the following about Stuart Young Iain Perry Rik Mostert:

“Being Frontline staff, Rail Enforcement Officers Stuart Young and Iain Perry, along with On Board Host Hendrik Mostert are no strangers to incidents and interventions on the railway. In their day jobs they come across people in need of help and some even at crisis point.

All work for GTR on the Great Northern Route which covers part of the East Coast Mainline south of Peterborough. An area that has been prone to incidents for some time. During this year’s National Mental Health week in May, Stuart and Iain undertook a task that they both felt strongly about involving ‘Andy Mans Club’.

ANDYSMANCLUB takes its name from Andrew Roberts, a man who sadly took his own life aged 23 in early 2016. Andy’s family had no inkling that he was suffering or struggling to the extent that he would do this, and as a result looked deeper into male suicide and men’s mental health. They soon discovered that male suicide is the biggest killer of men under 50, with male mental health surrounded by well-ingrained cultural stigma in the UK. Andy’s Mum and Brother-in-Law came up with the idea of ANDYSMANCLUB, a group where men aged 18 and above can speak openly about their mental health in a judgment-free, non-clinical environment. Groups now operate nationwide and are completely volunteer led, with many group facilitators having first interacted with ANDYSMANCLUB when they came through the door as a service user.

The week- long initiative started with Stuart and Iain visiting a group session, meeting members and facilitators to get a full insight into the charity, it’s benefits and how it could help others.

This was followed by going out and about on- board services and visiting stations with facilitators from A.M.C, spreading the word that there is help out there. They were joined by Hendrik (Rik) who is a member of a local AMC himself and an advocate for their services and no better a person to give advice than someone that has first -hand experience. They had over 2000 interactions throughout the week with passengers and staff, all very well received. Many who said they will take the information back to their own place of work with one passenger commenting…

“Rail Enforcement guys handing out leaflets on the train. He took the time to explain and talk through all the things the club does. It was great to hear another person talking about the stigma attached to men’s mental health and opening up, as opposed to just handing out leaflets. Having suffered majorly in the past with depression, I shook his hand and thanked him for doing a wonderful thing and highlighting this”

There has even been interest in the opening of a new club in the Newmarket area off of the back of one engagement .

All three agreed that ‘Even if we saved one life or got one person help, the week would be worth it in reducing the stigma around men's mental health.’“