Mentoring Young Men
1
The Pitch
Problem statement
“If we don’t initiate the young into the village, they’ll burn down the village just to feel the heat” – old African proverb. Throughout history, indigenous cultures understood the value of providing a marked and meaningful rite of passage (ROP) experience to steward youngsters into healthy adulthood. Failing to do so saw youngsters going feral and beginning of a perilous journey into social decline. Abandofbrothers offer a grassroots, social action solution to the problem of young male disaffection. We connect, inspire, and train local male volunteers to work with the most disadvantaged and most (self) destructive young men aged 18-25. Through ROP and mentoring, we help young men find ou
Solution
Want to stop the trend of young male disaffection, suicide, crime, and addiction? The solution lies in a powerful combination of initiatory rites of passage and mentoring. These age-old practices provide young men with a sense of purpose and belonging, a clear transition from boyhood to manhood, and a set of expectations to live up to Together, they empower young men to develop self-worth, discipline, and responsibility to the community. Don’t wait. Let’s give these young men the tools they need to thrive.
Why are we best placed to deliver?
UK charity abandofbrothers is the perfect organisation to tackle the issue of young male disaffection, suicide, crime and addiction. They offer tailored programs and services such as mentoring and initiatory rites of passage experiences. Young men are matched with experienced mentors for guidance, support and role models. Rites of passage provides a clear sense of purpose and belonging and help young men transition from boyhood to manhood. Experienced facilitators lead these challenging yet safe and supportive experiences. With their focus on young men and their approach, abandofbrothers is well-positioned to provide the solution to this problem.
Focus Areas
Delivery plan
Budget breakdown
| Training budget | £500 |
| Hire of Lescudjack centre weekly For one year | £1,000 |
| Refreshments for mentees/ mentors (one year) | £500 |
Beneficiaries
60 people
Who will benefit
Expected impact
We know that there is an undeniable problem amongst young men. In a recent analysis of violent crime by the Office of National Statistics (7 February 2019), perpetrators were most likely to be male, being reported to be so in around three-quarters of violent incidents (74%). At 30 June 2018, 95% of all prisoners were male, and 5% were female. Our flagship program, the Quest for Community (QfC), is a comprehensive program that includes ten weeks of one-on-one mentoring, a Rites of Passage weekend, a further twelve weeks of mentoring, community activity days, and weekly meetings with the local mentoring community. The QfC concludes with a celebratory Homecoming event, where young men return to their communities and, in the presence of their loved ones and community members, claim their newfound status as adult men. They are then welcomed to join their local ABOB community and receive ongoing support for years to come.
Track record
From our 2022/ 23 Impact Report. 97% experienced increased levels of hopefulness, motivation and possibility about their lives. 95% felt improved levels of responsibility/ accountability for their lives and actions. 96% increased their ability to clearly and cleanly express what was going on for them. 92% became more confident about building positive relationships with others. 91% had more people in their lives who support them through difficult times.90% improved the way they deal with anger and conflict. 76% were supported to take steps into education, employment or training. 77% reduced their offending behaviour. 85% felt part of a local community. 55% reduced their physical violence behaviour. 68% reduced their verbal violence behaviour.