Launch of the Man Matters Project

Event date: 6 November 2009 - 11:00am
Cost: Free
Contact: Dawn Lord
Phone: 90329718
Location: Ballynafeigh Community House, 283 Ormeau Road, Belfast

The Launch will mark the beginning of this five year project funded by the Big Lottery Fund.  Come along to find out more about the project and see how you could be involved.  We will also be running a Men's MOT at the same time so can have your lung age tested, your blood pressure checked and even get advice on smoking cessation.

The partnership is made up of five organisations: Home-Start, Parents Advice Centre, Ballynafeigh Community Development Association, Men's Health Forum in Ireland and is lead by the Workers' Educational Association.  

The five organisations came together because they share a common interest in engaging men in key areas of life that often have an under representation of men, namely: 

• Learning - men are less likely than women to return to education as adults
• Family - despite many advances men are still less involved as parents than women
• Health - men still underreport ill health and are more likely to die of preventable diseases than women
• Community/volunteering - men are less likely than women to act as volunteers in the community 

The Man Matters project is our attempt to address these issues.  The project has been funded for five years with a £1,000,000 grant from the Big Lottery Fund.  Over those five years we will work with upwards of 1500 men who face significant barriers to engagement in the areas outlined above because of issues such as poor educational attainment, poor health, low self esteem, unemployment and isolation.   

The men will take part in a range of courses and workshops including examples such as 

• Learning - basic literacy, numeracy and ICT to allow men to fully participate in learning
• Family - the Flatpack Guide for Fathers a parenting education course designed specifically for fathers and men in a fathering role
• Health - Men's health a course designed to build the confidence of men to tackle their health needs
• Community Volunteering - Getting involved in your community a self-development course that helps individuals build the skills necessary for effective involvement in community action. 

There will also be courses for health and family support agencies to improve the way that they engage with men and a series of briefing papers, seminars and conferences to showcase best practice and inform the policy agenda. 

We believe that the project might be of interest to you and/or the organisation you represent.  The partnership is looking to forge links with like minded organisations who want to reach out to the many men who need support.