Leeds Unlocked Zine issue 6

And as if by magic, we head towards the end of the MHU funding (for now) with this last zine, No6, produced by the Editors' Group and a few men of Leeds. 
This fab double-sized edition is a summary of what's on offer across Leeds and what the essence of these zines really are - a support for men, with stories and poems this time, a look back on lovely events like Northern Man Festival and the Manbassador Project and lots of things in place to look forward to from this point on.

The 3 poems are from men with whom I have recently connected - a really lovely trans man, Dalton, a great guy Bernard who is the first who is the first from his own GATE community to work with the community in a Mental health capacity, and lastly, John (CJ Ojukwu) who is often at the TOFS Cafe, working and meeting here. All 3 poems are really lovely, written with passion and honesty, focussing on getting through life and resilience, and are quite deep and thought-provoking.
And so we thought it was a good opportunity to give people the opportunity at looking at how they cope with their own life's stresses, with the stress-bucket activity and the stories from Chris & Chester on the Inner Pages. 

The Outer pages celebrate some of what we have achieved, celebrating the Manbassador project, the Northern Man Festival on a couple of panels, and likewise, the Editors group themselves, where Martyn excelled in coming up with the A-team analogy, which I happily continued in Syretta's caption! And the front cover itself offers a few great numbers to celebrate re the zine and the distribution network.
And a timely ad from the WY Suicide Prevention network (SPAN) for SP Champions, and an ad for the Repair Cafes, too!
There is a moving story about Si Brown, former soldier now working in men's health which also includes some info about Rugby League Rhinos Offload programme. now for men and for women and mixed groups. 
Last but not least, is our People To Talk To panel (crucial services & contact details) and al the listings for current men's groups across the whole of Leeds. 

Enjoy the zine - and let's hope we can produce some more in the not too distant future.