Menslink: Recent Episodes

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Supporting young men in Canberra

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Senator David Pocock This episode comes from our 2024 Business Breakfast speaker, Senator David Pocock. Having migrated from Zimbabwe with his family as a teenager, David went on to captain...

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Andy Friend In this Midweeker, held in August 2024, we heard from Andy Friend who has over 30 years of experience in the high-performance world of professional coaching, having a...

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Omar Muscat In this Midweeker, held in June 2024, we heard from Omar Muscat, a well-known face in Canberra’s hospitality scene. Omar is the owner of some of Canberra’s favourite...

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Peter Gordon In this Midweeker, held in April 2024, we heard from Peter Gordon, CEO of Hands Across Canberra. At the time, Peter had been with the Foundation since its...

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Duncan Brede In this episode, we share a special moment from our annual Menslink Big Night Out, where Duncan Brede spoke. Duncan is a well-known Canberran. He is currently CEO...

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Ben Gathercole In this Midweeker, held in February 2024, we heard from Ben Gathercole, Menlink CEO. Ben has a long history in sport – both as a competitor and coach....

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Mark Wadie This episode is a little different in that we aren’t bringing you our latest Menslink Midweeker speaker. Instead, we are going to share an episode from another podcast,...

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Wally Rao In this Midweeker, held in November 2023, we heard from Wally Rao from Deakin & Me. Wally is the “accidental mentor” who helps more young people daily than...

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Francis Owusu In this Midweeker, held in October 2023, we heard from Francis Owusu from Kutlure Break. Francis has used his love of dance to stimulate others to build their...

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Michael Coutts-Trotter Michael Coutts-Trotter was our keynote speaker at the 2023 Menslink Business Breakfast. Earlier in 2023, Michael was confirmed as the Secretary of NSW Treasury to the new Chris...

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Chris Dutton In this Midweeker, held in September 2023, we heard from Chris Dutton. Chris has been a journalist for the past 15 years after graduating from the University of...

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Ben Alexander In this Midweeker, held in August 2023, we heard from Ben Alexander. Ben is a well-known Canberra figure, having played hundreds of matches in the front-row for the...

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The Board of Menslink would like to offer its heartfelt thanks to Martin Fisk, following his decision to leave the organisation for new challenges. Over more than a decade as...

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The 2022 Impact Survey is ready for viewing. It gives insights into the outcomes our work has on the young men and their families. You can check out the latest...

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Creating community is core business for us here at Menslink and events like our Business Breakfast reaffirm that the community we have behind our young guys and their families in...

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The Big Night Out is one of Menslink’s annual fundraising events, bringing together community leaders and Menslink stakeholders and supporters for a fun night of letting off steam, listening to powerful stories, and of course raising much needed funds for charity.

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On Tuesday 21 September we held our 14th annual Menslink Business Breakfast for 2021, once again embracing a digital format. Canberra’s journalistic stalwart Genevieve Jacobs, great friend of Menslink, Group Editor at region media, and a well-respected journalist and presenter, MC’d the event and she was joined by our CEO Martin Fisk. Over 1,000 people tuned in from around Canberra, and around the country, as the Hon. Julia Gillard AC joined us to speak about leadership, mental health, and resilience. Julia Gillard was sworn in as the 27th Prime Minister of Australia and was the first woman to ever serve as Australia’s Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister. In 2017, Ms Gillard became Chair of Beyond Blue, Australia’s leading mental health awareness body. Ms Gillard gave a stirring talk from her home, exploring the impacts that this pandemic will have on the younger generation for years to come. “We are living through an extraordinary period in history. In years to come, it will be studied by scholars as a pivotal moment in time that changed the world as we once knew it. The history books will be delineated by two distinct eras; life before the pandemic, and life after it. It’s not hyperbole to say that the social, economic, and mental health aftershocks of this seismic event will be felt for generations to come,” said Ms Gillard. “But some generations will bear a greater burden than others, and that is what I want to explore with you today. The psychological impact of this pandemic and its aftermath on our young Australians. I know that this is something everyone connected with Menslink is deeply invested in, as we are at Beyond Blue. Ensuring we nurture young people and help them thrive is a moral and national imperative because our country is only as healthy and robust as the health and wellbeing of those who will inherit it.” Ms Gillard said 2020 had been Beyond Blue’s busiest year on record as the stress of COVID-19 exploded across a community where many were already damaged by the Black Summer fires and the young were likely to bear a disproportionate burden of the stress. Since April 2020, more than one million people have visited the charity’s online forums seeking help and information, and demand has risen by more than 50 per cent. A very sizeable proportion of those are young people under 24 and there’s also been a significant spike in teachers seeking assistance for young people in their care. But males represent only 33 per cent of contacts in that age group, although they are three to four times more likely to take their own life than females. In the ACT, 41 of the 53 suicides last year were male. At Menslink, we have also witnessed the impacts the COVID-19 pandemic is having on young guys. In the past year, Menslink reached more than 8,500 young men at 107 Silence is Deadly presentations, which is a significant increase from 2019-20. The Menslink Business Breakfast is our annual business fundraising event and draws hundreds of business leaders from across Canberra to hear from inspiring speakers, network with other community-minded people, and support the great work of Menslink. The breakfast is our main sponsorship event of the year, and helps us raise much needed funds to continue our work with young men in the Canberra community, through programs like our free mentoring and counselling programs, and our Silence is Deadly campaign. You can watch the full Business Breakfast stream on YouTube below: Want to find out more? You can get in touch with us here, call (02) 6287 2226, or email info@menslink.org.au if you have any questions about what we do or how to get

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Each year we get the chance to sit down with some of the guys that have been through our programs and hear their story.  This year we sat down with Kaleb and Brandon, 2 young guys from Canberra who have both been through the Menslink mentoring and counselling programs over the past few years.  They both have very powerful stories of how they turned their lives around and can both point at that ‘moment of change’ where Menslink helped them turn a corner in their lives. We discovered midway through their interview that they both had the same mentor – years apart – and then we sat back and listened to the stories and laughs they shared when they realised their paths had already crossed without them even knowing it. Hearing these stories first hand really brings what we do at Menslink to life.  We use the terms “What We Do Works” and ‘Everything is Possible”. These two young men are the living examples of that statement and we’re proud at Menslink to count them as part of our

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“So, what is resilience? How do we measure it, and how do we build upon it? How do we know what we’re doing is right? On the morning of Tuesday the 27th 2020, Menslink hosted the annual Business Breakfast in a format that was new and challenging for us. We had to move the event online for the first time in 13 years due to the restrictions on events still in place from COVID-19, but thankfully we were joined by some incredible people who ensured the morning was a success. The fantastic Genevieve Jacobs, friend of Menslink, Editor at region media and a well-respected Canberra journalist and presenter, MC’d the event and she was joined by our CEO Martin Fisk, board chair Michael Battenally and the inspiring guest speaker Georgeina Whelan – ACT Emergency Services Agency (ACTESA) Commissioner. This year’s theme was resilience. Topical for a year in which everyone has been tested including our services which have seen a year–on–year increase in counselling requests of over 60%. After the year she had steering the ACT from one major emergency event to the next, Georgeina has to be one of the most qualified people in the country to speak on this topic. She reflected on her 35-year career in the military and emergency services and the challenge of stepping into her role as ACTESA Commissioner just before the catastrophic 2019/20 fire season. Georgeina’s opening remarks set the tone for the 45-minute talk that held our online audience engaged throughout. “So, what is resilience? How do we measure it, and how do we build upon it? How do we know what we’re doing is right? There are many factors, as we know, that contribute to what we classify as resilient individuals, as resilient societies, resilient communities,” Whelan said. “What are the characteristics of a resilient individual? A resilient family? A resilient organisation? Most recently a resilient community, and in this day and age, a resilient world. We know that the term resilience can be seen as a throwaway line, but it’s very complex. There are many factors that influence who we are, how we go about our lives, how a community goes about its life, how we interact, and in fact there are many individual, collective and environmental factors that go into that.” Using her own personal experiences as examples, Georgeina highlighted the importance of working together to build a resilient society to make sure everyone can find support during the ebb and flow of life’s challenges. Across Canberra, our business breakfast streamed into offices and homes, with an estimated 350 participants tuned into the event. Many of our existing business supporters tuned in swapping the QT hotel for their own in-house events. During the presentation we released our “What we do Works: impact survey results 2020” which provides an evidence-based look at the impact our programs are having on our community. The surveys, undertaken in collaboration with the University of Canberra, show definitively that the programs that Menslink undertake in our community really do work. CEO Marty Fisk put it best when he said “We know that increasing young men’s resilience improves their overall wellbeing and their ability to grow and get through the tougher times in life. We also know that it improves relationships – with their family, with their partner, and with their classmates or work colleagues. We know that the work we do in helping young guys then has a ripple effect on the community; it contributes to reducing crime, family violence, anti-social behaviour, isolation – even suicide. It has never been more important to increase the resilience of our young people than it is in 2020.” Thanks goes to our corporate partners and sponsors for the event, our guest speaker Georgeina Whelan and our community who tuned in online for the event. You can watch the full business breakfast stream on youtube below or via this link —————————————————————————————————- The Menslink Business Breakfast is our organisation’s major annual business fundraiser event that helps us support the work we do with young guys in the Canberra region through our free programs such as mentoring, counselling, the Silence is Deadly campaign, and P.R.I.D.E. You can get in touch with us here, call (02) 6287 2226, or email info@menslink.org.au if you have any questions about what we do or how to get involved.

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We are sad to say that our Big Night Out 2020 is cancelled due to the ongoing and ever-changing situation with the Coronavirus, and associated restrictions on mass gatherings. At Menslink, the physical and mental wellbeing of all our clients, staff, volunteers and stakeholders is of the utmost importance to us. We are always so grateful for all the support we receive for our annual Big Night Out and wish to thank each and every one of our partners and supporters who were kind enough to support our major annual fundraising event. We know that in times of stress, depression, anxiety and family violence all increase. We want to let everyone know that we will not be cutting services at this critical time for our young guys and their families, but as the days unfold and there are more updates on coronavirus, it becomes even more apparent that the charity sector is facing very significant challenges. We want everyone to stay safe and healthy, and look forward to an even bigger Big Night Out in

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On Tuesday Morning, Menslink held our 12th Annual Business Breakfast at the QT Hotel. The event was out biggest yet with a sell-out crowd of 560 guests including representatives from a wide range of businesses and government departments as well as local sporting and media personalities. The breakfast is our main sponsorship event of the year, and helps us raise much needed funds to continue our work with young men in the Canberra community, through our free mentoring and counselling programs, and our Silence is Deadly campaign. Too many young boys and men are getting unhealthy messages as they grow up – messages that they’re not good enough, that they can’t be loved, that material success is the only thing that matters, that they need to “be a man and toughen up”, that they need to hit first and ask questions later; taking out their frustration with anger and violence against those around them. These messages find their way into our suicide and crime statistics, drug use and our increasing rates of domestic violence – all issues when men – young men in particular – are dramatically over-represented. Our job at Menslink is to change these messages, to give these young guys a message of hope and the skills and support they need to change their outlook and importantly their behaviour. At Menslink we believe that every young guy has a spark; the potential to have a positive impact on his family, his classmates, his workplace and his community. It’s our job to help the young guy to find it, to give him hope and to help him make better decisions; not just today but continuing into the future. Boosting his self-esteem and teaching him self-control so that he doesn’t lash out at others or even himself. We were fortunate enough to have Aussie rock legend Jimmy Barnes speak to the room about his experience growing up in a violent and abusive environment and the effect that it had on the trajectory of his life. “I was self-destructive and destructive of everything around me because of my childhood, that highlights the work that people in this room are doing to help young men like me and their families to avoid a wrecking-ball life and all the grief and cost to the community that causes.” The environment Jimmy grew up in has turned a suicidal boy into a very angry man who developed serious issues with substance abuse, landing him in rehab on more than one occasion. “I’ve been suicidal all my life. It’s been one of the longest suicide attempts in history, me trying to drink myself to death. This life destined me to hang on the end of a rope and that’s what we have to avoid for our kids. Quality time and decent advice can save a life and save so much more.” Barnes spoke about the cathartic process he went through in writing his two books, Working Class Boy and Working Class Man. “There was a lot of stuff that not only had I not spoken to anyone about, but I’d also pushed to the back of my head and some things that I’d completely blocked because I didn’t want to remember. They were the things that had been killing me for 40 years.” Perhaps the most profound thing Jimmy said to the crowd of people was “I thought for years that if you see a counsellor, you’re a lunatic. But that was the day I became truly courageous and my life changed.” This where Menslink step into the lives of hundreds of young guys right across Canberra, reaching them wherever they are; at school, at home, in workplaces and in the community. Helping them get through tough times with the least amount of harm to themselves or those around them. This year we will directly support over nine hundred young men and their families, with a further two hundred and fifty young guys attending our PRIDE group sessions and over 10,000 young guys in our ‘Silence is Deadly’ program. We give these young guys confidence, purpose and connection, all critical building blocks for their mental health and fitness. Building blocks they’ll use to stay at school, get a job and build a productive life in their communities; young men we can all be proud of. Click here for the RiotAct article and video or here for the official photos from the

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While Menslink supports young men, it’s their partners, families, schools and employers that often feel the biggest impact. Here is some feedback we received from both a young guy and his defacto partner, after he got help for mental health issues that showed up as anger and violence, both in his relationship and out in the community. Young man’s testimonial: Back in March of 2018 I found myself at the lowest point in my life, I was constantly angry/sad/anxious and confused. My relationship with my partner was failing and my relationships with my family were full of conflict because of my behaviour and attitude. I eventually wound up on the wrong side of the law and saw firsthand what my lack of control over my feelings had done. I knew it was time I did something to change myself. I spent some quality time with my counsellor over the next 9 months working on my problems with anger but also finding the depths of why I’d been feeling the way I was and we were able to let go of those old pillars which had affected me for quite some time. I felt a feeling of unburdening, as my relationship began to re-blossom and only a minimal amount of conflict was left in my life. I am so grateful for the guidance I received from Menslink. I highly recommend them to a young guy ever in need of a little guidance. Young woman’s testimonial: In a society where the feelings of men are generally oppressed, bottled up feelings can result in detrimental bouts of anger and severe mood changes. However, these occurrences can be prevented by expressing these feelings to someone without fear of bias or judgement. As the girlfriend of a man that unfortunately fell into this trap, I know these problems can be prevented with the help of Menslink. The hardest part of being in a relationship with someone who is suffering mental health issues is knowing how to address certain topics and support them in a way that was productive. It was such a big responsibility for me and to be able to share this with the wonderful people at Menslink was incredibly helpful. The benefits of the anger management techniques he was taught seeped through into our relationship in the most positive way. The difference I see in my partners ability to cope and respond to different adversities is due to the assistance that has been offered through the stupendous work of

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There have been numerous reports in the media recently about high school students filming violence and posting the footage online. To be honest, I think a level of violence has always been present amongst teenagers – I remember with sadness the chants of “fight fight fight” that would erupt sporadically at every school I went to from primary school all the way through to Year 12. What’s different now? The digital tattoo that affects everyone involved, even the not-so-passive bystander who films and posts the event, for life. It’s inescapable and magnifies the initial hurt many times. Impact Say you’ve had a humiliating experience – you’ve been verbally abused, bullied or beaten up. A bad experience you want to put behind you, forget it, move on and recover from the physical and mental trauma. But let’s say it’s captured online – shared amongst your friends, enemies and then even further afield, attracting hundreds of likes and thousands of views. What if people keep commenting on it, sharing it and it keeps comes up in Google searches months or even years later? Say at your next job interview or sent to your prospective girlfriend or boyfriend? Multiple times? We call this impact a digital tattoo. You’re stuck with it and it can never really be removed. The trauma keeps repeating…on and on again and again…. But it doesn’t only affect the victim. The bully or the user of violence is also affected by the digital tattoo – they might think it looks cool to their friends’ network being “tough” now but what about when they’re looking for a job. What’s a future partner going to think? Targeting Schools A number of media reports and subsequent commentary on social media appears to target schools; in many cases saying schools, educators and even the government are not doing enough (or even anything) to fix the problem. I think this is unfair. In our experience at Menslink, much of the violence happens outside school supervision and even crosses school boundaries. In one case an individual targeted a random stranger (a smaller kid unfortunately) in a shopping centre car park; in another a young man was attacked by kids at another school who had learned (via social media) he was gay. Violence (and the celebration and perpetuation of violent behaviour through social media) is a community issue. It is not condoned or encouraged at school and schools are inherently limited in what they can control. Kids are generally only at school for 30 hours a week – that’s less than 20% of a term week and doesn’t include the 14 weeks of school holidays. That’s worth thinking about…. Violence is a community issue and we all need to look into root causes, prevention strategies and interventions: schools, parents, government, police, neighbourhoods and the community sector. All of us…. What can we do? Frankly, I think there is a case for increased regulation of social media companies; interestingly a view also held by Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Let’s face it, social media companies make money out of these violent videos and content – they drive traffic, traffic drives growth, growth drives advertising and a rising share price. It is way too difficult to request content that shames you or your children to be taken down (importantly if Facebook doesn’t think it’s offensive to the community then it is impossible to have the content removed). This needs to change. We need increased support options for victims and offenders alike: non-judgemental, easily accessible and not necessarily tied to “mental health” or “behaviour change” – both labels which can discourage help-seeking behaviour. Finally, we need to look at how we are influencing the very behaviour we are trying to stop. I was very disappointed to read so many comments online from adults effectively saying that adults need to go down and beat up the kids. Here’s a couple of recent comments on ABC Canberra’s Facebook page: “you’d better hope that the police find the perpetrator before I do. They’d never do it again.” and, in response “I’m with you [name]… any little bag does this to my kid and I’ll be doing the same violence on them!” Adults advocating violence, especially violence by a stronger person (adult) against a weaker person (child) only helps reinforce in young people’s minds that bullying and violence works. This to me is the most troublesome aspect of the whole debate: public calls for schools to do more, but in an environment where parents are reinforcing the behaviour for all to see. As a society, we need to do more ourselves and be better role models. Schools can’t do it

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On Friday March 29, Menslink held our 3rd annual Big Night Out…and boy was it big! Over 450 people from across Canberra came to show their support, sporting funky outfits and big hair for our 70s and 80s theme. It was a sensational night, packed with great food, great company and great entertainment (thank you Daniel Gibson for your outstanding contribution as emcee). The band, Killer Queen, rocked our world with a phenomenal performance from their sold out Canberra show, and had people of all ages tearing up the dance floor with their 80s disco moves. I took to the stage early on in the night, and shared some amazing feedback from those connected with the young men we help, such as mothers and girlfriends. I also shared feedback from a local primary school that has recently adopted our Menslink program for boys under 13 and is already seeing remarkable results. We hope to be able to help many more young men in schools across the ACT this year through our Silence is Deadly campaign. But who better to talk about what Menslink does than a bloke whose life has been changed by coming to Menslink. Xavier was one of our clients 7 years ago and has since gone on to create an incredible life and business for himself that employs 16 people from Canberra. You can see Xavier’s story here. We’re still tallying the final results but we’re confident we will clear over $180,000 after costs. This means we will be able to support over 150 young men in the Canberra region, which is an absolutely fantastic result. A HUGE thank you to every person and business that so generously donated the more than 130 goods and services we received and auctioned off via ALLBIDS. The Canberra public really got behind us in the lead up to the night, and the live auction fetched some very special amounts, including an Amarok Ute which was kindly donated by Lennock Volkswagon and purchased by Geocon (who also bought a number of other items). We’re now looking forward to our annual Business Breakfast in September, and will be announcing a very special guest speaker for the event next month. To everyone who came and supported us – you made a massive difference, just by being there. Marty

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The wonderful Gents over at Kick4aCause are running another event in support of Menslink in 2019. Menslink would like to thank the gents themselves as well as the wider AFL community in Canberra for their support. Head over to their web page if you would like to find out how you can get involved!

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Happy New Year to all, we hope that you had a well deserved break and that you also took a moment to spare a thought for those who need it most. We received some wonderful feedback from one of our mum’s over the break, following our summer camp which was held in early December. “When going through traumas that are instigated by males, it’s been hard to keep my lads believing in the goodness of males. Being part of the Mentoring program has helped counteract this greatly. It helped my lads to see that not all men are horrid, and give them characteristics to want to grow into as they themselves become men. My lads think the time has flown by as “time flies when you are having fun”. They have enjoyed talking “male stuff” with other males and allowing their testosterone to run free. When at home I put on my “dad hat” to allow that, so they don’t miss out, but its more authentic when done by actual males. My lads have previously had bad social anxiety and I’ve noticed the more they participate in link ups, the less anxiety they suffer in all aspects of social interactions. They have enjoyed meeting lots of new people, and acknowledge it has helped eased their anxieties, if not overcome it in some aspects. They have enjoyed the variety of activities both in the mentor meetups, and the linkups with the group as a whole. They think the getaways that occur are pure fun, joy, and laughter. During their time in the Mentoring Bro’gram, they acknowledge how they have grown stronger in pushing themselves past their own limits. They thoroughly enjoyed the camp and were inspired by the speeches given during it. They feel better people, better men/males, since being part of the Bro’gram, and for that I am grateful as they are incredible lads but when I say it, I’m not sure it fully sinks in as “mums are supposed to say nice things”. I’ve noticed their confidence and self esteem grow stronger, their general happiness has increased, their peer relationships have improved, as have their relationships with family members (the brothers have grown closer and now have a stronger relationship), they take more responsibility for their actions, manage their emotions in a more mature way and realise they are actually stronger for allowing themselves to feel emotions (when previously been disassociated from them), their willingness to try new things has increased, and their general demeanour and attitude has improved. I’ve noticed my youngest lad has strived harder to improve his grades at school since being part of the program. I am forever grateful for this. Its one thing to go to psychologists, etc, but sometimes young males just need a hands on approach to life and guided by actions and witnessing of emotions in other males (like at camp speaker), for it to fully sink in. I would recommend Menslink Bro’gram to any parent of traumatised/troubled teen and young adult males. Thank you with every essence of my being Menslink. One grateful and highly appreciative mother/father” We love hearing that our programs are having such a positive impact on our young guys as well as their

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A study conducted by researchers at University of Canberra’s Centre for Applied Psychology has found significant long term benefits arising from young men’s engagement with Menslink’s free counselling and mentoring services. The study showed that not only did young men’s lives and relationships improve while they received support from Menslink, they continued to improve in the years afterwards, highlighting the benefits of early intervention in areas such as mental health and family violence. The study highlighted significant early improvements in both life satisfaction and relationship satisfaction (reported by both clients and carers), with young men continuing to improve after they’d ceased getting support (on average two and a half years earlier). This study shows long lasting benefits over many years from a very modest investment in young men’s lives, given Menslink’s average cost to support a young man through troubled times is only $1,200. Lead researcher, Dr James Neill from UC, stated that “impressive short-term benefits were not only maintained, but continued to improve during the follow-up period. This ongoing improvement is notable because, more commonly, immediate gains from brief interventions tend to dissipate in the longer-term. So, the evidence indicating that Menslink participants experience post-intervention growth, on top of very substantial short-term benefits, is particularly noteworthy. It appears that young guys engaged with Menslink become sufficiently empowered to make ongoing positive changes, independently, in their own lives.” Menslink CEO, Martin Fisk, stressed how important these findings were for the community. “Our goal in supporting these young men is to give them a hand up, not a hand out. Provide early intervention supports that are there when the young guy needs it – at no cost and no fuss. Then provide them with the skills and techniques that they can continue to use in their lives as they develop into independent adults.” In commissioning the original research, he said “we knew we were having a positive impact while we were supporting the young guys. What we didn’t know is what happened after they stopped seeing their counsellor or their mentor. For this study to show that our young guys continue to improve is amazing. It shows the impact we’re having and the very tangible benefits of investing in effective early intervention – both by government and all the businesses and donors that support our work.” Chair of the Menslink Board, Michael Battenally, considers the research outcomes as a significant recognition of the high value of the ongoing investment by the ACT government and community. “The capacity of Menslink to readily engage with young guys has always been a strength” he said. “To now see the long term benefits to the young guy and his family affirmed by independent research is fantastic. Menslink will leverage this evidence in its strategic planning and build on the strength-based approaches we already take.” In conducting the study, University of Canberra researchers interviewed former clients and carers (mostly single mums) and assessed their life satisfaction and relationship satisfaction immediately prior to, and after seeking support, and at follow-up (on average 2.5 years later). The study found that positive long-term changes in life satisfaction were reported for 94% of Menslink participants, with no reports of deterioration in life satisfaction despite the often very challenging circumstances faced by the young guys. The effects on relationship satisfaction were positive, but more nuanced: relationships improved for 79% of participants in the short-term, and for 52% in the long-term. The report concludes with a quote from an indigenous mother, who highlights the impact that Menslink has had: “From a mother’s perspective, from a family point of view, from the bottom of my heart, there are no words to describe how grateful I am. I am close to tears. The difference that Menslink made to my son’s life is a game changer. Honest to god, this one person you work with will have a ripple effect on people in my family and that all comes down to Menslink. And I cannot thank them enough. I will be grateful for these guys until the day I die.” A full copy of the report is available here UC Report into Long-term Impacts of Menslink Counselling and Mentoring Oct 2018 Our CEO, Martin Fisk and Dr James Neill had the opportunity of speaking with ABC Radio’s Adam Shirley about the study, listen to their interview linked below UPDATE: This report has been turned into the Impact Survey to report on the ongoing results of the Menslink programs. Click here to see the latest Impact Survey Report. Canberra’s standout help for troubled young

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