Boys in Mind works in partnership with children, young people and professionals in a range of settings to promote good mental health and prevent suicide, particularly among boys and young men. Our work is guided by our 3 P’s – Prevent, Promote and Participate
- Prevent – Preventing suicide
- Promote – Promoting positive mental health and positive images of boys and men
- Participate – Encouraging active participation of children and young people
Vision, Mission & Values
Our Vision
Empower children and young people, particularly boys and young men, to talk about their emotions and express their vulnerability in a safe and healthy manner. Help to create a society where everyone is accepted, regardless of their identity.
Our Mission
Work with schools and other organisations to challenge unhelpful stereotypes, combat stigma around mental health and ultimately prevent suicide . Develop and produce films and other resources to support our aims. Provide a platform for children and young people to discuss issues affecting them.
Our Values
Work in a compassionate and solution focused way. Promote positive images of boys and young men. Embrace and celebrate diversity.
We strongly believe that
No one should feel ashamed of: –
- Talking about their feelings
- Asking for help when they’re feeling down or struggling
- Being honest
- Being themselves
However, despite much work to challenge the stigma around mental health, many boys and young men are still unwilling and unable to open up about their difficulties and get help. They suffer in silence and tragically some go on to take their lives.
Our aims and principles
We believe that by understanding and addressing the particular barriers boys and young men face and challenging unhelpful notions of what it means to be a man we can begin to improve male mental health and ultimately reduce male suicide rates.
We aim to reduce the stigma and isolation which often exists for boys and young men, enabling them to:
- Talk about problems when they arise and ask for support when they need it
- Know that other boys and young men share similar challenges and feelings
- Care about themselves and each other and be able to demonstrate this
- Show emotion and cry when they need to
- Explore and challenge unhelpful, inaccurate and misleading stereotypes about what it is to be a man
Girls Mind Too:
Why this work is important for girls and young women
We recognise that there are a growing number of girls and young women who are struggling with their mental health and our focus on boy’s mental health is not intended to dismiss this very troubling trend. However, boys have told us that accessing help and support can present particular challenges for them as a result of unhelpful gender stereotypes, hence our focus on boys and young men.
Girls and women of all ages tell us that this work is important for a number of reasons: –
- They have male family members and friends who struggle to express themselves when they have a problem or who don’t seek support
- They see the effects on male behaviour when feelings and emotions are bottled up
- They are concerned about the high male suicide rate
- They feel that the messages being given out are applicable to girls and young women as well as boys and young men
- They also feel that the films and other resources pave the way to more general conversations about gender-stereotyping and conditioning of girls as well as boys
Support us
If you would like to support us in any way please get in touch via the following emails:
If you would like to support our work with a donation, just go to our JustGiving page by clicking on the link below. Every donation helps no matter how small. Thank you!
