Men's meet up in Mudgee addresses regional and rural mental health needs

The group will meet quarterly at Three Tails Brewery and Smokehouse, with its inaugural event on Tuesday, August 29 at 5:30pm.

According to owner of Three Tails Brewery, Mick Ash, himself along with other business owners Andrew Palmer (The Property Shop) and Brody Crawford (Smokin Bro & Co) saw a gap in Mudgee's mental health needs.

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"We really believed there was a need for a environment or a forum, where blokes of all ages from Mudgee and all the surrounding areas could get together. And then to have a chat, and they can listen or talk as much as they want about the issues surrounding mental health," Mr Ash said.

Mr Ash believes men's mental health issues are increasing in regional and rural areas due to a range of factors, including isolation.

It was this observation that led to the trio conceptualising the men's meet up.

"We just thought Mudgee was lacking a place where blokes could actually come and listen to people talk experts in the field, in an environment where they felt safe and comfortable in talking and listening and sharing some of their experiences," Mr Ash said.

The meeting will feature a guest panel, led by Lifeline Central West chief operating officer, Brad Kane.

Mr Ash said the group aims to cover a range of issues, with one of the speakers offering a firsthand experience perspective and providing information on access to support services.

"Brad will be pointing out a number of resources in the Central West that men can access if they're having any difficulties," Mr Ash said.

"We've found a lot of people just don't really know where to go when they are having issues. And there's a lot of support resources out there."

"What we want to do is make sure people are aware where they can go if they need to speak to people."

Mr Ash said it is hoped that Fathers and Sons will attend the meet ups to encourage conversations about mental health and change the way it is dealt with.

The meeting will also be offering complimentary non-alcoholic beverages to encourage men to sit around and enjoy a drink and conversation without the need of alcohol consumption.

" We want to push those and we want to say "Hey, guys, you don't have to drink all alcohol all the time," Mr Ash said.

"For people that do want to enjoy beer, the bar will be open, but we want to really push the alcohol free beers is a good thing."

The event is free, but is ticketed. Tickets are available at eventbrite.