Suicide prompts space for men to start talking
"I know for me personally I do the typical bloke stuff... I repress things, bottle it up and it stays in the box." Lawrence Coe
Three years on from the suicide of a friend, Lawrence Coe is ready to start talking about male depression - and he wants other men to start talking as well.
While the New Plymouth man doesn’t consider himself depressed, he experiences ups and downs with his mental health and has come to know the importance of opening up.
For that reason, the 28-year-old is launching a ‘‘safe space’’ for men to gather and ‘‘hang out.’’
Coe has secured an upstairs venue, aptly named The Attic, at the New Plymouth Metro Plaza, and has turned into a place men can come to talk and listen to each other, play games or even just read a book.
‘‘It’s coming up the anniversary of my friend’s death.
‘‘Almost to the day it’s been three years,’’ he said.
‘‘I know for me personally I do the typical bloke stuff...
‘‘I repress things, bottle it up and it stays in the box.’’
The suicide of his friend had caught Coe off guard.
Outwardly he appeared happy but silently he had obviously been struggling, he said.
‘‘There was no cry for help.’’ Men were more likely to kill themselves than women, Coe said, and he considered it a systemic problem.
‘‘I felt The Attic was needed as sort of a safe space where guys can take their masks off and step out of their box and talk about what is on their minds.
‘‘Even if men want to come up here and read a book for an hour a week, just a space to chill out, I feel it’s therapy.’’
The father-of-one was set to launch the space last night and said he would share where he was at in life with whoever turned up.
He would also make sure they felt welcome to do the same.
He plans to open the venue every Wednesday at 7.30pm but said the schedule could naturally evolve to further evenings and would be determined by demand.
The doors were open to all men, who could open up if they wanted but it wasn’t expected of them.
‘‘We just need to make connections with one another,’’ he said.