Maine Boys to Men

It’s Board appreciation time!

Maine Boys to Men board members are generous, passionate, and collaborative and they are fiercely dedicated to reducing violence in our communities. We’ve had some recent transitions on our board, and we want to give a shout out to these fantastic folks!

We also want to extend our deep gratitude to Kyle Burnett (not pictured) who recently stepped down after serving three years as Board Treasurer.

Last Saturday we held one of our biggest Boot Camp for New Dads workshops since the pandemic began, how awesome is that? This group of expecting fathers now have additional tools to be more engaged, proactive, and intentional parents to their children. The research is undeniable: dads being involved early and often will lead to safer and healthier lives for everyone in the family.

Become the prepared and confident dad you want to be!: https://maineboystomen.org/boot-camp-for-new-dads/

Last week we were fortunate enough to be able to bring our Training Institute back to Massachusetts!

Thank you to the good folks at Healthy Chelsea for co-hosting this workshop and allowing us to train youth-serving adults in the greater Boston area!

As MBTM Executive Director Bruce King says in this news piece, "[We] think the young people are really coming with a willingness to be a part of their own solution."

Our programs that empower youth to create safer and stronger schools and communities has never been more important. Get involved at maineboystomen.org.

https://wgme.com/news/local/gun-violence-teens-juvenille-cumberland-county-long-creek-district-attorney-crime

Amid more gun violence, top prosecutor seeing new trends Law enforcement is seeing a concerning trend when it comes to more gun violence in Maine.

We were thrilled to have such a great turnout at our Training Institute in Portland earlier this week! We're fortunate to be part of a community with so many amazing people who are dedicated to improving the lives of youth, and we're looking forward to future collaborations with the schools and organizations you represent. A special thank you to BerryDunn for once again providing us their beautiful conference room space and Rose Foods for the delicious donation of bagels and goodies!

📖The Maine Boys to Men staff has selected this thought provoking book by Richard V. Reeves as a summer team read. Its review on Goodreads says, "Reeves looks at the structural challenges that face boys and men and offers fresh and innovative solutions that turn the page on the corrosive narrative that plagues this issue."

Is it on your summer reading list too? Feel free to share your thoughts with us!

We couldn't be more excited for the first ever Youth Poet Laureate, Yashaswini Derisala! Yashu has been a three year member and leader of the RSVP club at Scarborough High School. We can't wait for more people to hear her powerful poetry and messages!

Original post created and shared by Portland Public Library:

✨ More good news! Portland, meet your first ever Youth Poet Laureate. We are thrilled to launch this new program and welcome Yashu Derisala as Portland’s first Youth Poet Laureate!

Yashaswini (Yashu) Derisala (she/her) is a young, brown, first-generation South Indian Telugu immigrant woman who is going to be a rising senior at Scarborough High School. We hope you will join us for a celebratory inauguration ceremony in September.
Congratulations Yashu!

Are you attending the Maine Department of Education’s Annual Summit? We are, and we’d love to see you there! On Monday, August 8th we will be leading a session on building meaningful connections among male-identified middle school students in order to foster safer school communities where all students can thrive.

Register for the conference here: biz.maine.gov/annualsummit

(Graphic created and shared by MaineDeptEd.)

Building a more connected community of new fathers, one cohort at a time!

On Saturday, we hosted our sixth Boot Camp for New Dads class of 2024. Building community requires more than just programming - we need engaged folks to help support and promote programs like this to others. These are the ripple effects that extend out through our community to create lasting impact. Thank you to all our Boot Camps participants and to Birth Roots Maine for providing space to hold this essential workshop.

Our cups are full after spending two days with the wonderful folks who attended our Training Institute in Hancock County. Many thanks to Downeast Restorative Justice for co-hosting this workshop with us. As always, more than just curriculum was shared - the personal experiences of the people in the room led us deep into conversations that evoked laughter and tears. We are so excited to explore future collaborations with you all!

Maine Boys to Men envisions a world where ALL people are equally valued, respected, and safe. This July, we celebrate Disability Pride Month, a time to honor and recognize the incredible contributions of the disability community.

The Disability Pride Flag, designed by Ann Magill, is a powerful symbol of this movement. Each color on the flag represents different aspects of the disability experience:

⚫️ Black: Mourning for victims of ableist violence and abuse
🔴 Red: Physical disabilities
🟡Yellow: Neurodivergence
⚪️White: Invisible and undiagnosed disabilities
🔵 Blue: Psychiatric disabilities
🟢 Green: Sensory disabilities

The story behind Disability Pride Month is one of resilience and activism. On March 12, 1990, over 1,000 people marched from the White House to the U.S. Capitol, demanding the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In a powerful act of civil disobedience known as the Capitol Crawl, activists demonstrated the inaccessibility of public spaces by physically crawling up the Capitol steps. This pivotal moment led to the signing of the ADA on July 26, 1990, by President George H. W. Bush.

Join us in celebrating the progress we've made and recognizing the work still to be done. Let's continue to advocate for accessibility, inclusion, and equal rights for all!

*For insights into the ongoing disability advocacy efforts and ways you can support, check out the incredible work Disability Rights Maine is doing. They’ll be celebrating Disability Pride on July 19th!

Heads up, Boston area folks!

Maine Boys to Men is bringing their Training Institute back to Massachusetts!

It will be held on August 6-7 at Mass General Hospital Revere HealthCare Center (300 Ocean Ave. Revere). The workshop will run from 9am-3:30pm each day.

The workshop is open to the public and we can’t speak highly enough about this quality workshop and organization. You don't want to miss this opportunity.

To learn more or pre-register visit their website: https://maineboystomen.org/training-institute/ or scan the QR code on the flyer.

We are so grateful to the folks at Kennebec Valley Community Action Program and Family Violence Project Maine for joining us at our Training Institute in Skowhegan last month. What a strong community of caring, supportive people and organizations! Your enthusiasm for our unique approach to violence prevention is inspiring.

🗣️ Calling all youth-serving adults in Southern Maine! Join us in Portland on July 30th and 31st for our two-day Training Institute, where you’ll learn to lead our Reducing Sexism & Violence Program (RSVP®) with youth in your community. With 25 years of experience and over 250 trained adults, our evidence-based curriculum covers crucial topics like empathy, consent, and upstander intervention. This professional development opportunity is a rare chance to make a lasting impact in your community.

Space is limited! Register today to secure your spot and become part of a community dedicated to ending gender bias, harassment, and violence. For questions or scholarships, contact [email protected].

Did you know that 80% of all people who die by su***de are male? Thank you NEWS CENTER Maine for covering this important topic. We're glad to have been interviewed in this article and hope we can keep the conversation going.

Men, Let's Talk About It: The importance of opening up to others Trained professionals and professional athletes share why healthy conversations can help yourself, loved ones, and society as a whole.

REALLY looking forward to this!

We are continuously inspired by the men who show up to our meetings to build community while discussing tools and strategies for self-care, violence prevention, and healthy relationships here in their new country.

Maine Association of Nonprofits is such a vital resource!

At MANP Connects last week, we learned there’s no shortage things to discuss when it comes to leadership transitions. Thank you to our guests Rebecca Hatfield (Avesta Housing), Anne Heros, Gretchen Johnson (both from The Center for Grieving Children, Maine) and Bruce King (Maine Boys to Men) for their thoughtful contributions and insights on such an important topic! Access the recording here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2HmMdf5HsTzkal9zB5pQVFV4pfFwtDPm

Thank you to our 2024 sponsors Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Eaton Peabody!

"Hey all I’m Andy I use he/him pronouns. I’m originally from Pittsburgh, PA and moved to Portland to get sober. In that time I have gone on my own journey to deal with the negative aspects of masculinity that I learned. I hope to bring some of my residential and recovery experience into Maine Boys to Men in hopes of finding other areas we can do gendered violence prevention.

I am currently a masters student at University of New England. In my free time, I like to surf and play video games while being active in the recovery community in Portland. At MBTM I hope to expand our other communities in Portland where this work is not being talked about and find ways to bring more people to the table and find the intersections of masculinity that occur in other communities to promote growth and safety"

Welcome to the team, Andy!

📣 Calling all adults in Hancock County interested in learning our Reducing Sexism & Violence Program (RSVP®) curriculum! Our Training Institute is coming to South Penobscot on July 16-17 and is open to the public. Spaces are still available! Secure yours by registering online at https://maineboystomen.org/training-institute/ 🔗 Link in bio

Next week, our community partners at Prevention Action Change are offering a virtual Pride Ally Training. 🌈 This is a fantastic opportunity to learn how to safely and effectively intervene in response to microaggressions and hate speech. Let’s come together to support the LGBTQIA+ community--not just during Pride Month, but every day.✊

Check out pacmaine.com for details and to register!

It's great to see programs for fathers happening all over the world!

Wanna be a good dad? A 'School for Men' teaches diapering, ponytail making An innovative program in Colombia gives men a chance to master the skills needed to be a hands-on dad — and become closer to their kids along the way.

Join MBTM Executive Director Bruce King for this timely discussion with Maine Association of Nonprofits!

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗻𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱, 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀? Join MANP Connects on Friday, June 21st and hear from nonprofit leaders on how they approached the transition process and what they learned. We look forward to hearing from:

Rebecca Hatfield, Avesta Housing;
Anne Heros, The Center for Grieving Children, Maine
Gretchen Johnson, The Center for Grieving Children, Maine; and
Bruce King, Maine Boys to Men

Register here: https://www.nonprofitmaine.org/events/manp-connects-2024-leadership-transitions

Thank you to our 2024 MANP Connects Sponsors Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Eaton Peabody!

Happy Pride Month from Maine Boys to Men! 🌈 This month, we’re celebrating with our LGBTQIA+ family and friends, embracing the joy of being together.

LGBTQIA+ individuals deserve to feel safe and supported in every aspect of their lives. Through our Reducing Sexism & Violence Program (RSVP®), we empower young people with knowledge about s*x, gender, and s*xuality, helping them challenge homophobic and transphobic beliefs rooted in harmful gender stereotypes.

Let’s promote acceptance, understanding, and equality for all. Come join us in the celebration! 🌈🌟💖

This! 🌈

True learning only happens when students feel supported and celebrated in the classroom and when everyone in the school community can be their authentic selves—no matter their background. Join us in raising the voices of students and educators. https://www.nea.org/resource-library/nea-lgbtq-resources

📣 Calling all youth-serving adults in Somerset and Kennebec counties! Our next Training Institute will be at the Skowhegan Center for Entrepreneurship on June 25th and 26th and spots are still available. This is your opportunity to learn how to facilitate our entire Reducing Sexism & Violence Program (RSVP®) with youth! Learn more and register online at maineboystomen.org/training-institute

We have so much gratitude for the men who have been joining us at our Men Connect for New Mainers meetings in Portland. We appreciate your curiosity, sense of humor, and desire to learn.