Man Plan proving popular at Sheffield CFO Activity Hub

Here at GC, we’re proud that so many of our services have well-being support at the heart of their delivery. To mark Mental Health Awareness Week, we’re shining the spotlight on ‘Man Plan’, an initiative set up by a GC employee to encourage service users in Yorkshire to open up about their troubles and gain access to the tools and knowledge they need to improve their mental health.  

‘Man Plan’, taking inspiration from Andy’s Man Club, is a weekly wellbeing club set up by GC Employment: Justice Services’ Joshua Fodor. The group was formed to reduce the stigma around men’s mental health and encourage more men to open up about their feelings and emotions. Josh noticed that the Yorkshire Activity Hub was particularly busy on Thursdays, so he linked with a few of his clients and invited them down to the first meeting, reassuring them that even though it is hard to share in front of people at first, it gets easier with time.  

Man Plan has been incredibly popular amongst attendees at the Hub, 3 men attended the first session in November 2021, and as of April 2022 over 30 men in total have been, averaging as many as 10 per week, ranging from ages 25 to over 60. The name of the group and logo were both designed by members.

What a typical session looks like:

Typically, Josh begins the discussion with 3 questions for everyone to answer: 

Give me one positive you’ve taken from the past week 
Do you have anything on your mind? 
How’s your week been? 

The plan works on an 8-week rolling programme, covering a variety of important topics including anxiety, mental health, depression, community integration, expressing emotions, confidence, coping techniques and personal experiences. 

As well as discussion-based sessions, Josh also plans activities for the group to participate in. This could be outside of the Hub like visiting the Christmas Markets over the festive period, or it could be at the Hub where they look at self-confidence or breathing techniques. 

Feedback so far has been very positive, with the many of attendees booking onto future sessions. Here are some comments Josh has received since forming the group: 

“It’s helping me deal with my mental health and giving me the confidence I need in myself to progress.” 

“Josh has helped me out with the Man Plan, as I have struggled with mental health issues, and it’s been great talking to others in the same boat as myself.” 

Looking forwards, the Activity Hub is looking to expand the Man Plan sessions to the Leeds and York sites, allowing more participants across Yorkshire to attend.

As well as expanded sessions, the team are hoping to start smaller drop-in sessions as follow-up meetings for men to attend. 

Learn more about the GC CFO Activity Hubs here.