With special guest:
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Simon Jarvis
… in conversation with Bill Kable
Who says men need help in today’s society?
Our guest today would answer by pointing to the shockingly high rate of male suicide with 7 out of 10 victims being male. Yet at a time like this it is hard to gain financial support for male issues because of the focus on other worthy causes. This is where Mentoring Men can make a difference and where Chief Executive Officer Simon Jarvis can build on the work by his predecessor and founder of the movement, Ian Westmoreland, a guest on Dads on the Air in November 2019.
Simon tells us that Mentoring Men is not a crisis centre. This is not for men who have gone over the edge in one way or another. The group aims to get in early with men who just need a non-judgemental ear, someone who may have experienced all this before and who might have a few tips to pass on.
Realistically just about all men could fit into this category of needing someone to listen. This is not a substitute for a man or woman you meet at the pub. Simon and Mentoring Men recognise that it takes some time to get to know someone and understand where that person is at in life. So there is a commitment of up to 12 months of getting together from time to time for a coffee, a game of golf, a walk or just a chat on the telephone.
So who are these mentors? Simon speaks very highly of the mentors in his organisation. Applicants are scrutinised and trained carefully. Sometimes it might not be clear if the applicant is intending to be a mentor or a mentee and indeed some mentees have gone on to become mentors. The age ranges from 16 to one in his 80s.
This is a wonderful initiative that addresses a gap in providing very necessary help to the men in our community. This becomes apparent when it is revealed that there is nothing like this service in the USA, the UK or elsewhere in the world and Simon often gets calls from other countries asking for help. For the moment the service is limited to Australia and for Australians, help is a click www.mentoringmen.org.au or a phone call 1300 583 925 away.
We congratulate Mentoring Men for what they have achieved in a short time, we congratulate CEO Simon Jarvis and we look forward to hearing more from the group in future shows.
Simon brings a broad range of management experience with over 20 years in the Not-for-profit sector in the UK and Australia. He has a bachelor’s degree in Behavioural Psychology. Simon intends to expand the organisation through professional operational principles with the best Mentor and Mentee experience at the core.
For Simon having a Mentor is an essential for anyone, not just people doing it tough, as being able to share thoughts, ideas and concerns can relieve the pressures of life before they become unmanageable. This is the reason why Mentoring Men resonates greatly and why he is passionate in the success of the organisation.
Song selection by our guest: You Can Call Me Al by Paul Simon
Note: This program is an encore presentation of the one aired on 28 April 2022.