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User:Webnaut/workingwithmen

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Working With Men is a registered charity (No: 1102451)  which produces and implements support projects that benefit the development of men and boys, raises awareness of issues impacting upon men and boys, and works to gain a greater understanding of the underlying issues behind male behaviour.


Background:

WWM was founded in 1998 by Trefor Lloyd. Trefor has been involved in developing work with boys, young men and fathers since 1982, his projects while at Working With Men included ‘Into Work’ (transitions to work for young men), ‘Willpower Challenge’ (preparing boys for secondary school), the evaluation of work with boys and young men’s initiatives in Belfast, and DIY Dads, a project run in Lewisham and funded by Family Policy Unit.

The executive director of WWM is Shane Ryan, He has extensive experience in youth and social work, and more recently has focused his creative approach on developing holistic services of support for boys, young men, fathers and their families, with a particular focus on males for underprivileged backgrounds. In 2003 Shane Ryan received a commendation from the home office for his work with homeless shelters in London.


The work done by WWM is based on several principles:

The developing work is user-led as opposed to ideology or theory-led. The consultancy and training work is aimed and supporting others in developing their own practice.

WWM aims to ensure that men and boys, especially those from disadvantaged groups can look forward to a better quality of life.

The work is underpinned with an understanding of masculinities. Whether the issue is fatherhood, sexual health, unachievement or criminality WWM strives to understand why boys and men do what they do, and works to determine what can be done in the face of a variety of often competing masculinities determined by race, class, sexuality, disability, geography, religion and culture.

With a positive approach WWM supports individuals and groups and advocates on their behalf whilst developing strategies that address racism, sexism, homophobia, and oppression in general.


What WWM do:

Working With Men undertakes research, provides training, offers consultancy and evaluation services, and develops resources, to aid practitioners and agencies who work with boys and men. Key areas covered by WWM include: fatherhood, health, education and underachievement, unemployment and training, crime and violence, relationships, conflict resolution and homelessness.

WWM often works with partners in order to offer such services such as Sure Starts, hospitals, youth projects such as the Amberley Youth Club[[1]]and other voluntary organisations. Current and past partners include:

  • Teenage Pregnancy Unit
  • Department of Health
  • City Parochial Foundation
  • Home Office
  • John Lyon’s Trust
  • Joseph Rowntree Foundation
  • Bengali Workers Association (BWA)
  • Refugee Advice and Support Centre (RASC)
  • Sure Start
  • Healthier Schools Southwark
  • Race Equality Unit (REU)
  • Old Warren Partnership (Northern Ireland)
  • DCSF
  • Youth Action Northern Ireland
  • The London Borough of Lewisham [2]


Working With Mens current programmes include:


Expectant Fathers Programme

The Expectant Fathers Programme is one of the first (and presently the only expectant fathers) course to be assessed for the National Academy for Parenting Practitioner’s commissioning toolkit and has been piloted and delivered through hospitals, Sure starts, such as Hyndburn Sure Start and Children’s Centres. The EFP has been developed and piloted through the Parenting Fund.

The aim of the EFP is to build new fathers confidence in terms of their role, their skills, and their ability to support their partner and baby. By providing fathers with more information they engage more actively in the pregnancy and better understand the importance of their role. The EFP imparts the practical skills new fathers need to acquire including how to hold, feed, change, and bond with their baby enabling them to be competent and confident fathers. Also, the EFP explores the impact of a new baby on relationships, not just with partners, but with work and friendships, as well as issues raised by expectant fathers.

The course is delivered over four 1.5 hour sessions and supported with reading and a follow up session after the birth. [Young Fathers PDF Booklet]


Young Fathers Initiative

The Young Fathers Initiativeis a new website for young fathers funded by the DCSF Teenage Pregnancy Unit and designed in consultation with young fathers.

The website aims to:

  • Remove barriers that currently stop young father’s involvement in family life;
  • To ensure that young fathers are informed and have the skills required to father their children well;
  • To support children’s development, by supporting the active involvement of young fathers;
  • Provide professionals with information, advice and support to develop their work with young fathers.


The Young Fathers Intiative website does this by:

  • Providing clear, concise information on a variety of areas affecting young fathers including: being an expectant father and issues related to before, during and after the birth, information related to CMEC and resolving conflict with partners, how to care for children when living apart, advice related to work, college and housing, and details on our 'Expectant Fathers Course' and our 'Baby Father Accused' campaign. This information is available in an easily downloadable format which fathers can keep for reference.
  • Developing video interviews with young fathers sharing their experiences, which range from 'How to tell your family?' to 'Will my partner go mad with the hormones?'.
  • Encouraging interaction amongst young fathers, and, between them and the Young Fathers Initiative.


Boys Development Programme

Funded by the Wates Foundation [[3]], Working With Men has developed and delivered a 4 session (8 hour) programme targeting lone mothers who have sons. Previously known as ‘Raising Boys’ the programme is now called ‘Boys Development Programme’.

The programme aims to give mothers more understanding of their son’s development and behaviour; a series of techniques to provide their sons with boundaries and discipline and more confidence in supporting their sons through difficulties they might encounter.

Mothers have responded very well to the programme and both internal and external evaluations suggest we have a programme that enables mothers to learn a lot about their sons and parenting, without feeling judged


UNCUT

The UNCUT project was launched in March 2007 by Working With Men in response to a report called 'Fear and Fashion' commissioned by the City Bridge Trust which conducted research across professionals working in schools, the police, youth offending teams, and other agencies, and reported on the use of weapons and knives by young people. In order to work on the recommendations set out by the report four exemplar projects were initiated, UNCUT being one of them, set up to investigate the motivations behind why young people carry weapons, and working to change attitudes and deliver preventative initiatives with an aim to integrate these into mainstream services.

An initial consultation was carried out with 200 young people in North Westminster, followed up by workshops, leading onto developing work which includes: School assemblies to raise awareness of the consequences of carrying knives, group workshops on community safety and knife crime, workshops to enable young people to understand the legal consequences of using and carrying knives, conflict management workshops, and one-to-one mentoring for individuals.

UNCUT were asked to attend a House of Commons Select Committee meeting to discuss the findings of the project in 2009.


References

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