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* About Menslink The Menslink Philosophy MEN'S LINK is a dynamic, non-profit, charitable association that promotes the value, well-being and social participation of men, in particular young men, by providing appropriate and professional services with outreach activities. Our Values The values of the Association are:
Goals
The RAMPP Model The RAMP Model is a carefully constructed set of guidelines that are used as a foundation for all mentoring practices at Menslink. Below is shortened version of RAMPP, to access our brochure Working With Young Men and the more condensed version of RAMPP make a request by email. 1. Relationship 2. Acknowledgement 3. Membership: Establish practices that allow young men accessto skills and siutations that are valued by community. 4. Professional Practices How you can help There are several ways that members of the community can help Menslink. The most obvious, is becoming a mentor, however a large part of our ability to make a difference in young men's lives, comes from the voluntary support of so many individuals and organisations. From cooking snags at a BBQ, to offering your business' services Men's link needs as much community support as possible. If you have any ideas how you or your Organisation can help, please contact Menslink on (02) 6239 4699. * Information for young men This area of information aims at getting the right info to young men who are interested in the activities that we offer. Read on, and if anything grabs your interest, we'd be happy to answer any further questions you might have. Unless a life threatening situation is involved, anything you ask about or bring up is confidential. What is a Mentor? A mentor is simply a person who is a bit like an uncle or an older brother. They are not a counsellor or a replacement father; they are certainly not there to tell you how to live your life. Mentors are people who will stand up for you, and stick with you, when things are good or bad. How do I get a Mentor? Have a good think about what you want out of mentoring. Keep in mind that everyone (no matter what age) can do with a mentor, if not through Menslink, then from uncles or friends. It may be helpful for you to sound the idea out with a parent or friend. If you are still not sure what it is all about, then check out the contact details below, and ask more questions until you understand the process. Fill out the forms. I don't want a Mentor! That's no problem, the final decision on Mentoring is all yours, and if you think Mentoring isn't for you, that's alright with us. We have other things you can get involved in, that might work better for you... We've got a lot more going on than just mentoring. You might prefer to try other things at Menslink, before jumping straight into having a mentor. If so, you can start with one of our group activities. These happen through weekly World Game Soccer games, and the Bicycle Repair Workshop.
Bike Repair Workshop
Young Men's Support Network The Young Men's Support Network has two components - the initial intake/assessment element, and the counselling/life-coaching component. Intake and assessment is really important for getting the right initial advice and referral. We endeavour to work with people as the first point of contact, to assess in a friendly way, where they are, and whether Menslink or another service can assist. When you ring, we will ask you a number of questions to assess options, potential for engagement, and the exact nature of the problem. The Keep - Life Coaching Menslink believes young men have lots of potential to offer our community. We also understand that everyone, including young men, go through times in their lives that are difficult. Our staff can help you find the next step to get past such difficult times, and if you want to talk at a more personal level, you can talk to our life coach. The job of the life coach, is to work with you, to listen to you, and to help you access strengths you already have or support that is out there for you. Sound out your options.
There is no cost for this service. Doing Anger Differently (DAD)
Over the top anger leading to violence, can be really destructive, and this is unfortunate, because anger can be a useful emotion for telling us that something is not right or that we are not being treated right. Menslink has trained facilitators working in the school environment, with 12-15 yr old boys who are using anger destructively. DAD: DAD helps you to become self-aware around such things as triggers and emotional responses, so that you can make better choices in how you respond to situations that make you angry. Mentoring Young Men The Mentors Program (Mentoring Young Men) is all about the development of trusting friendships with adult male mentors. It offers young men the chance to have a one-to-one friendship with an adult male mentor on a regular and on-going basis. By spending time, doing everyday activities, you can become open to explore different skills, and have experiences that can increase your self-worth. This helps you to improve all your other relationships, and reach your potential at home, school, and in everything you do. There are two levels of mentoring. The first involves a more informal approach, including the group/activity based mentoring projects, such as World Game Soccer or the Bicycle Repair Workshop. The second tier is the one-to-one mentoring (aimed at young men 14 - 21 years). World Games Soccer A multicultural cultural mix of mentoring, fun and soccer. The World Games is a weekly soccer game for young people, particularly those from migrant and refugee backgrounds. It can provide them with an opportunity to meet with a variety of community workers who also play. This is held on Friday afternoons from 3 to 4:30pm at Dickson College oval. A number of other services, including JPET Multicultural service; the YWCA youth services; and Reclink, are key partners in this project. Chain Gang - Bike Repair The Bicycle Repair Workshop Are you a young man aged between 12 and 24? Men's Link and RecLink are looking for young men to participate in this workshop. Please call Bryan at Men's Link for more information on 6239 4699 * Information for Mentors What is a Mentor A Menslink mentor is someone who listens and teaches by example, how to handle daily life as a man in today's world. You don't have to be heroic, just genuine, responsible, and open to learning and sharing your valuable time. "The mentoring task, as I see it, is to help the young man that I work with, appreciate how capable and skillful he is at dealing with the problems he faces in life." Why be a Mentor Mentoring is an opportunity to contribute in a real way to the development of a young man's life. In the process, mentors will have to overcome the real challenges of relating to a young man, who may be isolated or experiencing difficulty in establishing everyday friendships. As a result, the mentor will utilise their own strengths and interpersonal qualities, and may need to develop new ones. They will gain a greater understanding of the world of the young man, and hopefully, have the opportunity to learn new things, and have new experiences, attached to that world. The mentor will meet others who are equally excited about working and being with young men. In all likelihood, new friends will be made, and you will experience the fulfilment of generations coming together for common causes. Becoming a Mentor Here is a schedule of events for you to participate in the mentors program. You will need to have completed:
The following steps are then followed:
Other Mentor events include:
* Information for Parents and Referrers What is a Mentor? A Menslink mentor is someone who listens and teaches by example, how to handle daily life as a man in today's world. You don't have to be heroic, just genuine, responsible, and open to learning and sharing your valuable time. "The mentoring task, as I see it, is to help the young man that I work with appreciate how capable and skillful he is at dealing with the problems he faces in life." The Benefits of Mentoring Like never before, mentoring is in demand, as people realise the value of a responsible role model. Recent evidence from the Big Brother-Big Sister programs in America, reveals mentoring makes a measurable difference in the following areas of the young person's life:
School outcomes: Family and relationship outcomes: A Mentor for Your Son Even the best fathers cannot raise their sons alone. Fathers need extra help from other men, to do this properly. In a house full of boisterous and defiant sons, more manpower is needed. In tribal situations, the whole male community got involved with the teenage boys - mentoring, training and initiating them. A father could count on all kinds of help, and boys could count on positive input - usually more relaxed and accepting than fathers manage to be. A boy in his mid to late teens, needs other men to step in, who will teach him skills; give him a sense of worth; and take him out beyond the family walls. In other words, he moves to a mentor. His own father may be a mentor to someone else's son. Different from fathering, mentoring is an informing but less-nurturing role, which in no way takes away from or threatens the closeness of father and son. In the old days, this was the person who taught a boy his craft for life. This old arrangement took the heat out of the father-son relationship, which can get very tense, as anyone who has taught their teenager to drive will know! In practice, this means a few simple steps. If you have sons, you also need to have groups of male friends whom they can be around, so that they feel accepted into the adult male world. You don't then need to be 'into' sport, fishing, computers and so on, unless you choose to. There will be others who can step into this quite naturally. There will always be deeply intellectual fathers, with athletic and extrovert sons, and vice versa. This needn't be a problem, if the father is willing to allow and encourage good men from amongst his acquaintances, who can supplement what he offers, and thereby create a balanced adolescent experience. From "Manhood" - by Steve Biddulph Is Mentoring for Him? The mentoring relationship is not designed as a counselling service for the young man. It is about a relationship of respect and supportive friendship. This level of mentoring, enables a strong personal relationship of trust to develop. It is often a natural point of continuation for young men who have experienced Menslink's tier one activities. Although they can go directly into the program (pending the availability of the mentors) young men, referrers and their carers, need to think hard about the motivation of the young men to "give it a go". Young men who are clearly indicating disinterest, are saying they are not ready, and this needs to be respected. * Programs The Keep - Life Coaching The Young Men's Support Network has two components - the initial intake/assessment element, and the counselling/life-coaching component. Intake and assessment is really important for getting the right initial advice and referral. We endeavour to work with people as the first point of contact, to assess in a friendly way where they are, and whether Menslink or another service can assist. When you ring, we will ask you a number of questions, to assess options, potential for engagement, and the exact nature of the problem. Doing Anger Differently (DAD)
Over the top anger leading to abuse or violence, can be really destructive for young men and the people they are angry towards. This is unfortunate, because anger can be a useful emotion for telling us that something is not right, or that we are not being treated right. Menslink is currently piloting DAD in the ACT, and has trained facilitators working with partner school Melrose High. We work in the school environment, with 12-15 yr old boys who are using anger destructively, and this of course leads to all sorts of negative outcomes to both them and others. DAD is 'fun' first of all, thus enabling young men to be more motivated to attend the workshop. DAD utilises African drumming, group dynamics, and a carefully constructed therapeutic framework. The aim is to provide opportunity for young men to become self-aware around such things as triggers and emotional responses, leading to better choices in how they respond to situations of conflict. Mentoring Young Men (MYM) The Mentors Program (Mentoring Young Men) aims to value young men through the development of trusting one-to-one or group-to-one friendships with adult male mentors. It offers young men the chance to have a one-to-one friendship with an adult male mentor on a regular and on-going basis. By spending time with a responsible adult, doing everyday activities, the young man is open to explore different skills, and have experiences that can increase his self-worth, improve relationships, and develop his potential at home, school and in the community. There are two tiers, or entrance points to the Mentors program. The initial tier, involves a more informal approach, including the group/activity based mentoring projects: World Game Soccer or the Bicycle Repair Workshop (aimed at young men 12 - 21 years). The second tier is the one-to-one mentoring (aimed at young men 14 - 21 years). World Games Soccer A multicultural cultural mix of mentoring, fun and soccer. The World Games is a weekly soccer game for young people, particularly those from migrant and refugee backgrounds. It can provide them with an opportunity to meet with a variety of community workers who also play. This is held on Friday afternoons from 3 to 4:30pm at Dickson College oval. A number of other services including JPET Multicultural service; the YWCA youth services; and Reclink, are key partners in this project. Chain Gang - Bike Repair The Bicycle Repair Workshop Chain Gang is aimed at young men aged between 12 and 24. It provides young men with the chance to learn about fixing up push bikes from a bike mechanic, while benefiting from the mentoring support of an adult male. It is also a great opportunity for young men to make a few new friends Men's Link and RecLink are looking for young men to participate in this workshop. Please call Bryan at Men's Link for more information 6239 4699 POSM What is POSM? The program is about creating interactive learning experiences for boys (it does work with girls as well), that build practical skills, social skills, and of course, creates a whole new perspective for the children in their attitude towards their school. Project Orientated School Mentoring (POSM) is a unique model; in essence, it aims to build one clear foundation of success at school, anticipating that others will follow. This is foremost, an early intervention approach. Responsibility sits with mentors, staff and teachers, to facilitate the discovery of skills and uniqueness in boys. This must be done at an early stage, so that those not excelling in mainstream avenues, have identified alternative avenues for success and fulfilment. In doing this, we facilitate expression of their skills, and connect them with their peers and wider school community. POSM is about creating alternative early pathways of acknowledgement, transition, and opportunity for at "risk boys". Using an early identification/strength based approach (project based mentoring). We invite the boys to contribute to their school environment (i.e. by building a garden), and as a result, stimulate a process that leads to greater inclusion, ownership and reflective learning. Why do this?
(Dr Thierry Bouhours School of Criminology and Criminal Justice Griffith University Queensland. 2003-2004) Activities are chosen that link with the schools overall directions, trends, interests. Schools choose activities that will make a real difference to the school infrastructure, thus they are highly valued, and easy to notice and acknowledge. POSM is based on evidence that boys benefit from positive male role models, and that they are more open to mentoring when their primary focus is on a task, rather than on talking about issues'. Whilst being located within the schools, they are often outside the classroom, thus providing more personalised avenues for engagement with mentors. What happens? - Positive outcomes for children
Creates a whole new perspective for the children in their attitude towards their school Example of POSM in operation.
What is a Mentor good for? A mentor will spend time with you doing shared activities like playing sport, fishing, playing computer games, or working on a project like fixing a push bike. You will have the opportunity to discover the wonderful potential that we all have. * Contact us Richard, Russ, Garry and Bryan are here to answer your questions. Please contact us by your preferred means. Email: info@menslink.org.au Street Address: 2 Light St Griffith ACT 2603 Postal Address: PO Box 4147 Manuka ACT 2603 ****************************** This Community Support Website is |
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Menslink Valuing young men Menslink was created by a willing group of men who saw the importance of supporting and helping young men to be the best they possibly can be. We provide various mentoring and life coaching services to young men and their families. We welcome contributions from everyone (both men and women) in providing support, inspiration and pathways for young men. |
