Stoke support group aiming to save lives by getting men making art
The Stoke-on-Trent charity hopes their weekly sessions will help men talk about their mental health
A project's underway in Stoke-on-Trent to get more men opening up about their feelings whilst being hands on with art.
B-Arts in Hartshill is running Men Who Make Things, a weekly creative making and well-being space for men involving carpentry, metal work and foam prop making.
B-Arts lead, Rebecca Frankenberg said:
"It sometimes has been a lifeline if they're not having a good time or, a very negative experience, coming together and to make and find themselves again through creativity. That's where they say they almost feel at peace.
"At the moment the men are working on hedgehog homes, bug hotels and bird boxes."
Suicide rates are highest among men over 40 - and the city has higher rates of depression than the rest of the country.
Stoke-on-Trent artist at B-Arts, Ben Evans said:
"Men don't particularly feel creativity is something they should do, cuz you know, we're all about industry and labour and craftmanship, but all of those things have creativity in them!
"Creativity is a really important way to discover what emotions you're feeling but also then channel them.
"It's a really important way to just explore what's happening inside your body, in a way that is gentle."
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