In the November/December issue of the e-magazine, Retail Pharmacy Assistants’ Samantha Crawford spoke with Matt Defina, Head of Programs and Impact at The Man Cave, a mental health organisation that seeks to address mental health issues among boys and young men, to gain insight into preventative mental health within this cohort.
Tell us about your role and how The Man Cave was founded.
As Head of Programs and Impact at The Man Cave, I oversee the programs we deliver to the boys, the training of our facilitators and capturing the insights we’re getting from working with thousands of young men. I’ve been with Man Cave for over four years now and first joined to support the founders, Jamin [Heppell] and Hunter [Johnson], to build the evidence base that supports the programs.
The Man Cave was started by Jamin and Hunter in 2014 when they looked at the rates of depression, anxiety, suicide and domestic violence and realised that no one was working on the prevention of these. They were only focused on crisis management. The Man Cave was started to prevent these statistics from eventuating, by showing boys they don’t need to live into the masculine stereotype. It’s designed to be a psychologically safe space where boys can take off the mask of masculinity and better connect with themselves and each other.
What is the aim and mission of the organisation?
Our vision as an organisation is to create a world in which every man has healthy relationships, contributes to his community and reaches his full potential. This vision statement guides everything we do.
We bring our vision to life through our mission, which is to empower boys to become great men, by providing them and their communities with impactful programs, role models and resources.
What are the key challenges facing boys and young men?
It’s a confusing time to be a young man. They’re being given a lot of mixed messages and being told to open up, share their feelings and to be OK about asking for help. At the same time, we’re asking them to be brave and strong.
We know the old model of masculinity doesn’t work, but we’re also currently in a transition stage. The challenging part for young men in this is that we’re telling them what not to be, but we’re also not telling them what they can be. On top of all this, national conversations on critical topics, such as consent, often do not include young men, leading them to feel unwelcome in discussions it’s critical that they’re a part of. Suicide is still the leading cause of death for young men in Australia, and the key challenge for them remains feeling like they can open up and get support before it’s too late.
What kind of programs does The Man Cave carry out?
We deliver full-day transformational programs that are designed to shift the attitudes and belief systems of boys around topics such as masculinity, gender, mental health and what it means to be a man. These programs are run by highly trained and relatable facilitators who are healthy role models for the boys. The boys will go through a full-day program with our facilitators in groups of 30-40 boys with two to three facilitators and ideally include their teachers or educators in the program as well. In addition to this, we’re building a community of boys online, mainly through platforms such as Twitch, Instagram, Snapchat and Tik Tok.
How have your programs helped to improve boys’ mental health? Can you give us an example of a success story?
In the last seven years, we’ve delivered these programs to more than 20,000 young men, and 95% of these boys would recommend our programs to other young men.
We know from our evaluations that more than 70% of boys who go through the program feel more aware of their own emotions, each other’s emotions, have skills and tools to support each other and want to redefine the masculine stereotype and become a healthy man.
Why is prevention-based work integral?
A holistic approach to the mental health sector is critical, but right now our services are heavily skewed towards crisis management. Prevention-based work is critical because we’re getting ‘upstream’ to the source of the problem. Prevention-based work enables us to address the unhealthy attitudes and belief systems that boys might have or start to develop without our work. Our belief is that if we can knock a boy a few degrees in the right direction at 13-14 years old, that will drastically change where he is in 10-15 years’ time. Imagine if every boy in Australia was shown that he doesn’t need to be in control all the time, be attracted only to women, or be strong and fit to prove himself as a man. Prevention-based work is addressing the unhealthy mindset that leads to the behaviour, and this can rewrite the course of history for young men and everyone around them if done well.
Why is it important to shine the awareness spotlight on preventative mental health and The Man Cave’s work?
It’s important to shine the light on this work because it’s a story of what is possible when you work with boys in a preventive, strengths-based way. The topics of mental health, masculinity and domestic violence are serious and impact people every day. However, scare tactics don’t enrol boys and men in wanting to be a part of this work. We’ve approached the work from a mindset of expansion and opportunity, seeking to empower boys to become great men. This means they want to be involved for their own growth, not because someone told them to. In a time when we’re facing so many challenges socially, this is a project that everyone can get behind. It doesn’t just benefit young men, but also their families, women around them, and their future intimate partners and children. At the core of it, we’re aiming to create intergenerational change.
What resources are available for retail pharmacist assistants to learn more about your organisation?
Our website has some great resources you can use with the young men in your life, especially the check-in and honouring tools. Our latest impact and insights report is also available on our website, and this shares more about what’s really going on with young men right now.
Additionally, you can support The Man Cave by stocking and selling our hygiene brand, STUFF, which is focused on supporting the next generation of men as they navigate a new era of masculinity. As mentioned previously, for every $1000 in sales, STUFF funds a boy to go through our programs.
For more, and to read the interview with Matt Defina as it appears in the latest issue of Retail Pharmacy Assistants e-magazine, visit: rpassistants.com.au/magazines/retail-pharmacy-assistants-november-december-2021/
