International Men's Day 2024: How our Boys2Men programme turns offenders into role models
Today is International Men's Day 2024, an ideal time to celebrate the incredible work that our Boys2Men team do with young offenders.
What is Boys2Men?
Boys2Men is an 8 session course run by Spurgeons. The sessions set out to help the young men reflect on their transition to becoming men, their masculinity and their role in society. The aim is to help the youths take active steps for a better tomorrow.
The course involves open, honest conversations and sharing stories and experiences, with a view to developing positive objectives for the future.
Why do we run Boys2Men?
Many of the young men who end up at young offenders institutions haven't had positive male role models in their lives, and become caught up in crime. Boys2Men encourages the young men to consider and understand their choices, changing their perspective.
The course encourages the boys to understand their emotions, who they are and their place in the world. It inspires them to tap into their feelings using creative activities, and explores the idea of a positive support network. It also asks them to identify their strengths, and use affirmations.
'I remember the first time I walked in to Feltham, I was petrified,' says Nii Anum, Boys2Men Lead. 'I didn't know what to think. I didn't know what I was going to see. And it really does teach you a lot. My perspectives, especially about how I view the prison environment, really changed quite dramatically over time as I began to work within the space. But Feltham is a phenomenal space to work in.'
Nii believes firmly in referring to the youths as 'children': 'We're quite intentional about calling them children simply because you get children
as young as 15 years old. It's just honing in on the fact that they are children, and many of us did a lot of things when we were young that we probably regret.'
Boys2Men began in HMP Feltham but now also runs in HMP Winchester, and works with Surrey family centres also.
The impact of the sessions
The boy's have reported gaining a new outlook from the programme, and a determination to stay out of prison and make positive steps forward. As Carl, a Boys2Men graduate, says: "Spurgeons actually saves lives. With the same old mindset you come out of jail, you go back into jail, you come out of jail, you go back into jail, you come out of jail, you die.' (Read Carl's story here).
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