ManLeigh support group celebrates first birthday and 100 members

After losing his son to an extremely rare heart condition at just 10 months old, Mark Smith knows how it feels to be in the depths of grief and mental struggle.

As many men do, Mark said he tried to keep strong and continue with his day-to-day life but inevitably, he "crashed and burned".

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Mark (left) set up ManLeigh after going through his own struggles (Image: ManLeigh)

Despite going through further difficulties in life, Mark said he did find ways to overcome these through things like bereavement support and counselling.

After overcoming his own struggles, while also picking up life skills from his roles in the military, business, and retail, Mark's family encouraged him to set up a support group to share his experiences and help others going through similar situations.

Taking his family's advice on board, Mark decided to organise a few support group meetings in Leigh and after the "mental" initial reaction, 'ManLeigh' was born.

Mark with councillor John Harding (Image: ManLeigh)

Mark, who is originally from Essex, said: "With the experiences I've had, my family encouraged me to set up a men's group as I can understand what men go through and how they work.

"I put a few feelers online to see if people would be interested in this sort of thing, and my phone went mental. From the feedback, it was obvious that a significant percentage of Leigh wanted this."

The men's support group travels to various informal locations in Leigh (Image: ManLeigh)

Growing the group organically, Mark takes the idea to various locations in and around Leigh, in an informal setting where men can drop in and out and speak about whatever is on their mind.

This includes weekly meet-ups at Tesco cafe at the Loom retail park, the Book Cycle shop in Spinning Gate shopping centre, the cafe at St Mary's Church on St Mary's Way, and Higher Folds Community Centre.

There are also visits to the mental health wards at Atherleigh Park, as well as opportunities for men to get involved in community or fundraising activities.

The group now supports more than 100 members throughout the week (Image: ManLeigh)

Mark added: "We invite anyone from Leigh to come along, and offer peer-to-peer support from people who have been through similar things.

"We help guys with everyday struggles that we all go through in life, such as anxiety and depression, as well as things like grief, relationship breakdowns and addiction.

"You hear some incredible stories at these meetings and how people have overcome their problems. You really do reach people from all walks of life."

With a nurse at the Atherleigh Park mental health ward (Image: ManLeigh)

With more than 100 members now using ManLeigh's weekly services, Mark aims to secure a permanent base to continue growing the group and reach more men in the community.

The group, which was invited to the King's Coronation last weekend, also records podcasts to tell the "real life stories" of how men overcame the difficulties they have faced.

For more information about ManLeigh and its meetings, you can find the website here.