EXC: Trio launch men's mental health support group in Pollok
Sons of Sanity - or SOS - is hoping to help stop men from turning to drugs and drink to cope with their problems
It is hoped a community initiative, set up to tackle men's mental health in Pollok, will stop them turning to drugs and alcohol to cope.
Three men are setting up the Sons of Sanity - or SOS - sessions, after noticing an increase in male suicides in the area.
Kieran McGregor, Dean Mcmenamin and Craig Browning are teaming up to offer a safe space for men to meet, talk through their problems and build a network of support.
They will offer sessions based around both mental and physical wellbeing, as well as support for drug, alcohol and gambling addictions.
The aim is to "create a brotherhood, helping men overcome mental health challenges, isolation, trauma, or other struggles through mental and physical health development, building connections, outdoor pursuits, other activities, and mentorship."
The group had its first official meeting at the SWAMP building on Brockburn Road on Tuesday 3rd December 2024.
'Addiction is a big thing'
Veteran Dean McMenamin is one of the men spearheading the sessions - who went through his own battle with alchohol and drug addiction after being medically discharged from the military.
He told Clyde 1 News his sense of self fell away after going back to civilian life, and he began to fall into similar patterns that many young men in Pollok do.
He said: "I don't think Pollock will be too different from a lot of the other schemes in Glasgow.
"I think social housing schemes in general probably share a lot of similarities in terms of a lot of guys and girls grow up with not the best start in life.
"Addiction is a big thing.
"I think most guys, even on the surface they do seem like they have their life together, face a lot of pressure to just work and provide.
"Often we can take ourselves away from friends, social circles, hobbies, until we get to a point where we don't even know who we would call if we had a problem or a challenge that we needed help with."
'Uplifting, encouraging, supporting'
Dean added: "Men are isolated more than ever now, even if they do have their wives, their families, their partners.
"When we become isolated from other men, then we tend to go down the basement in regards to our mental health.
"Part of the problem in a place like Pollock is that even if a lot of the guys do have good friends that they catch up with, a lot of that is based around drugs and alcohol, which causes other problems.
"So what's missing is a group of guys that aren't just mentors, but who are also uplifting and encouraging and supporting.
"Helping people raise their standards in regards to the type of lives that they want to live and get healthier, fitter physically and mentally."
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