Menslink CEO, Martin Fisk, talks about the need to provide safe places for young men to talk about their problems.
Over 80% of suicidal young men who come to Menslink for support need help with some big challenges in their lives. They don’t necessarily have a mental illness, they’re just dealing with some pretty big problems they don’t know how to manage. Stuff like bullying at school, at Uni or at work, family violence, relationship breakdown, abuse, or losing a job.
If we’re going to build up resilient young men, we not only need to encourage them to ask for help (and not put them down when they do).
Equally important is providing a safe place for them to do so, without stigma, without labels. Sometimes you just need some advice – you’re not mentally ill, there’s nothing wrong with you but you’ve got some seemingly insurmountable problems you’ve never faced before.
It’s got to be OK to ask for advice and there has to be some places you can get that advice.
https://www.facebook.com/Studio10au/videos/1121607264639850/
Martin Fisk speaks with Gus Worland about some of the challenges that young men face.
This is what we do at Menslink. Our Silence is Deadly program encourages young guys to put up their hand for help – and tells them that we all have hassles in our life and there’s no shame in getting advice on how to deal with them. We follow through with free counselling and mentoring that blend professional support with lived experience: a combination that has worked for over fifteen years supporting more than two and a half thousand young guys.
If you want to get involved as a volunteer or financial supporter, or you need support yourself for you or your family, get in touch…