Crawley charity celebrates its second anniversary by planning a new opening

Menshare is a listening group run by and for men that was set up in Crawley in 2021. The organisation was founded by Sean Orr who recognised the need for men who are experiencing emotional distress to talk about their feelings and to be heard by other men.

Many men struggle on their own to deal with difficult emotions. Menshare has grown rapidly in the last two years, which reflects the high level of need that is in our communities for mental health well-being.

In the past year alone, Menshare is now operating in two communities across Crawley and East Grinstead and are looking for their third community set-up for 2023. These achievements would not have been possible without the support of our volunteers who chair circles as ‘leaders’ on Mondays and Wednesdays in Crawley and Tuesdays in East Grinstead.

Menshare train coaches who can provide one-to-one support in addition to the groups that we run three times a week. It will also enable us to run several weekend camps every year where we can provide more in-depth therapeutic support to men and the opportunity to build relationships and reduce social isolation.

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Men suffering from depression, suicidal thoughts and attempted suicides, anxiety, health issues, divorce, homeless, parental alienation and more are most welcome. Menshare has over the last two years established contacts with many in authority (police, social services, medical practitioners, well-being, motivational coaches, health and fitness) and can steer men to the right services to help them if they require expert needs. It is proud to say that it has become a point of entry and access to many supporting services because of the great reputation the group has built.

The group is continually looking for local and national funding, so it can make a huge difference to men in the communities who are struggling. What started as a group of two men is now 100 and counting.

The founder of Menshare, Sean Orr said: “Menshare Listening Group was set up in 2021 due to two suicides in the local community of Crawley. I needed to create a safe place for men to come and be supported in a confidential and non-judgement environment. Enough was enough! If we could help men to talk and have connection and help the reduction of mental health and suicide attempts, then these circles had to be formed.

“Since then, we have served over a hundred men with our circles and nature weekends and are celebrating our two-year-old birthday by being in two communities - Crawley & East Grinstead. We plan to have another venue and circle by the end of the year. This gives me hope to serve even more men in our communities who need to be held and heard and supported.”