Male suicide: Mike McCarthy sets up support group after son's death

A journalist whose son took his own life has helped to set up a men's support group to honour his son's wish for better mental health provision.

Ross McCarthy, 31, who had a young son and a fiancée, died in February after a 10-year battle with depression.

Following his death his father, Mike, has teamed up with Sheffield United to launch Talk Club Sheffield.

He said: "In Ross's name and in Ross's memory we want to try to make a difference".

Ex-BBC and Sky News reporter Mr McCarthy, from Sheffield, said his son had left a note asking his family to campaign for better mental health support.

He said he hoped the group, which begins on 8 September, would provide a place for men to "turn up, come in and talk about what it is that's on their minds".

"The emphasis is very much on mental fitness and getting men mentally fit, it's like a gym for the mind," he said.

Mr McCarthy said he believed suicide - the single biggest killer of UK men under the age of 45 - was "one of the great pressing problems of our society".

"I've spoken to so many people, nurses, doctors, psychiatrists, bereaved relatives, and the message comes across loud and clear; the mental health system has to be drastically changed to help all of these desperate people," he said.

"Part of the problem is the stigma that surrounds suicide. We don't talk about it, we bury it under the carpet.

"We can't go on denying it's there. If there was something else that was the biggest killer in the country we'd be doing something about, we'd be talking about it, taking action."

Talk Club, originally founded in Bristol in 2019, has about 35 groups across the UK as well as some in Australia and the US.

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