The incredible work being done by Men Matter in Glasgow

This is a compliment not a slur as what was delivered in a haphazard series of rooms in what I thought was an office block, was phenomenal. As I went in, they asked me to sign my name – but also to put down what level my body battery was at. I wrote 60 per cent, tired after a rotten night’s sleep. Some people had written 20 per cent and some put 0 per cent.

On the wall in the main space was a series of photos of around 20 men, with dates of birth and death, some were in graduation robes smiling and happy, others had their difficult lives written all over their faces. These were the men who had taken their lives. Local men whose body batteries had hovered around zero, even if no one else knew it.

Here was a place of refuge for men; men who were lonely, men who were in addiction, men who needed support, men coming out of the justice system, men who wanted to volunteer. A young man passed me, cigarette stuck behind his ear saying, “I just luv the smell o that incense” in a broad Glasgow accent, having just come out of a meditation session run by one of the staff.

Yoga, meditation, counselling, talking group, music, exercise and coaching all available – and fishing on a Sunday. There were loads of people in there, men who’d perhaps never been near a meditation session in their life, for whom yoga was an alien concept and yet here they were. One of the volunteers said that some men stand outside the door several times before entering the building, yet after that they become frequent attenders. There’s free coffee and tea and a food bank for those who need it – no referral, the team are so close to the men they make it part of the service.

One of the staff team tells me that he has been accepted by the University of Glasgow to study community development, but not before he explains he is part of the street team who go out in the evenings to the hot spots where people end their lives, to provide support and humanity to those in desperate need. Often, they’re looking for missing people featured in social media posts put up by frantic families.

A yoga and life skills teacher who volunteers there a few days a week, after working in Goa and Asia, exuded a calmness, centredness and demeanour that seemed slightly out of place in the Glasgow I know. But he presented solutions to so many of the problems arriving with the men. We need more of that.

This place is the heart of community justice, a place of reparation and welcome, a place of listening and understanding, a place of connection and friendship. As I left, I had to sign out – there was a box for my body battery level after the visit. I wrote 80 per cent, but as I left, I realised that I should have upped that score. It’s called ‘Men Matter’, yup, they do. Hats off, long may they prosper.

Karyn McCluskey is chief executive of Community Justice Scotland

The incredible work being done by Men Matter in Glasgow - Karyn McCluskey