August has been another fantastic month at Sean’s Place, filled with connection, creativity, challenge and plenty of opportunities for our members to try something new. From celebrating our annual John Mc festival to getting active, exploring creativity, developing confidence and simply taking time to slow down, it has been another month full of moments that remind us why community matters so much.

John Mc Festival

Our third festival in memory of our dear friend John Mc was a huge success, and it was incredibly special to see so many people come together to celebrate his life and everything he meant to our community.

We were so proud of all our fantastic performers who took to the stage and helped make the day such a memorable occasion. It was also wonderful to welcome so many of our members’ family and friends, giving us the opportunity to meet the people behind the men we support every day.

Some of the most moving moments came from hearing family members share how much their loved ones have changed since beginning their journey at Sean’s Place. Hearing that families feel they have their son or their dad back again is something that means more to us than we could ever put into words.

John’s memory continues to bring people together, and we are incredibly grateful to everyone who helped make this year’s festival so special.

Accessible Fitness Sessions

Our First Steps to Fitness group continues to go from strength to strength, with members enjoying the opportunity to get active again together. What has been particularly fantastic to see is the support and encouragement members give one another. Everyone is on their own journey, with different abilities and different goals, but there is always someone there cheering the others on. We are incredibly proud of every member who continues to challenge themselves and take those important first steps towards becoming more active.

We also enjoyed another brilliant Walking Football session, where both groups showed exactly what sport at Sean’s Place is all about. There was plenty of fun and laughter, but also fantastic sportsmanship, with members supporting and respecting each other’s journeys and abilities throughout the session.

Create and Connect

Our Create and Connect sessions continue to give members the opportunity to explore their creativity, try something different and spend time together in a relaxed and supportive environment. Whether creating something new, learning a skill or simply enjoying the company of others, these sessions are a great reminder that wellbeing can come in many different forms. It has been brilliant to see members getting involved, supporting one another and discovering new ways to express themselves.

Coffee and Connect

Our Coffee and Connect sessions continue to be an important part of life at Sean’s Place, giving members a chance to come together, catch up and enjoy some time with friends. Sometimes it is the simplest moments that make the biggest difference. A coffee, a conversation, a laugh or simply sitting in a room where you feel comfortable can all help someone feel connected and remind them that they are not alone. We love seeing our members making new friendships, supporting each other and building the sense of community that makes Sean’s Place what it is.

Drama Club

Our Drama Club is far more than an acting club. It is a place where men can forget about the world for a moment, express emotions through their characters, build confidence by pushing themselves outside their comfort zones and use their lived experience to educate others through performance.

This month, our Drama Club have been working incredibly hard rehearsing for their upcoming play, The Gaffer, which they will be performing later this year.

This week’s rehearsal was particularly powerful. Watching the guys really dig deep and draw out some incredibly emotional and powerful scenes was a reminder of just how far they have come.

The confidence, honesty and commitment they are showing throughout this process has been incredible, and every single member involved should be incredibly proud of their progress so far. We certainly are.

Mindfulness and Sound Bathing

We have recently welcomed a new session lead, Jacqui, to the Sean’s Place family. Jacqui brings many years of experience from delivering sessions all over the world — as well as some brilliant stories from her travels! Jacqui has taken on our weekly Sound Bathing and Mindfulness and Yoga sessions. These offer our members the opportunity to relax and learn techniques to quiet their minds. They have proven so popular!

Steering Group

In August, over 40 of our members came together for our Sean’s Place Member Steering Group.

We shared the results of our latest member survey, talked openly about what is working, what could be better, and the changes we’re proposing as we continue to grow and the response was overwhelmingly positive.

There were questions, ideas and honest conversations. Sean’s Place has never been about us sitting in an office deciding what we think men need. Our service is designed by and for our members. We listen to the men who walk through our doors. We learn from their experiences and when something needs to change, we work through it together.

Over 80 members took the time to complete our recent survey, and today more than 40 gave up their time to come along, listen, contribute and help shape what happens next. That level of involvement means so much to us. As Sean’s Place continues to grow, we want to make sure we never lose the thing that makes it special which is the voices of the men at the heart of it.

Thank you to every single person who came, everyone who completed our survey and everyone who continues to trust us enough to tell us what we’re getting right and where we can do better. In This Together!

ACEs Partnership

We’re delighted to be working with the Sefton ACES Team, who are now delivering a programme with our members at Sean’s Place. For us, partnerships have to be about more than simply bringing another programme into our service. We need to know that what we offer our members is safe, good quality and delivered by people who genuinely care about the men taking part.

Their staff are kind, approachable and genuinely invested in the people they work with, and it has been lovely to see them getting to know our members and becoming part of the Sean’s Place community. We’re really excited to see how the programme develops, the difference it makes for our members and where this partnership might take us in the future.

A huge thank you to everyone at Sefton ACES for working alongside us and, most importantly, for caring about our members as much as we do.

LFC Trivia with Chris Kirkland

We were incredibly lucky to welcome former LFC goalkeeper Chris Kirkland to spend some time with our members and celebrate the launch of his new book, “Keeping It Quiet”.

Chris personally signed a copy for each of the lads, taking the time to chat, share stories and make the afternoon feel really special. We also put their Liverpool knowledge to the test with an LFC trivia quiz. And no proper Liverpool afternoon would be complete without some famous Scouse pies to finish it off!

For us, sessions like this are about so much more than an activity. They bring men together, create conversations, give people something to look forward to and remind our members that they are part of a community where they belong.

A massive thank you to Chris for giving his time so generously and making today such a memorable one for our members.

Other Sessions This Month

We always have so much going on here at Sean’s Place, and August was no different. Alongside these events, we also continued delivering our regular sessions, including:

• Advanced Fitness/Kettlebells
• Cycling Club
• Games Afternoon
• Rhythm and Riffs Guitar Club
• Singing Group
• Walking Club

Support Summary

Throughout August we have also continued to offer 1:1 counselling support to ensure we are giving our members a well rounded package of care.

As always, thank you to everyone who continues to support Sean’s Place — our members, staff, volunteers, ambassadors and partners. Every session, conversation and event helps strengthen the incredible community we continue to build together.

If you would like to know more about the support we offer here at Sean’s Place or think that you or someone you know would benefit from our support, please contact us or make a referral online and we will be more than happy to help.