The Male Development Service (boyztoMEN)

NEWS

Livingstone Launches Youth Policies
First Published: Thursday 17 April 2008

Ken Livingstone has unveiled his youth orientated policies which he says are aimed at making the nearly two million Londoners under the age of 19 feel valued and secure.

The Mayor's youth manifesto - A New Deal for Young Londoners -includes a £79million ‘youth offer’ which he says is "based on a commitment to invest real resources to young Londoners rather than the waffle and charity hand-outs favoured by Boris Johnson."

To coincide with the publication of the manifesto Mr Livingstone visited the the Boyztomen project in Kilburn which tackles social exclusion and underachievement amongst young men.

Speaking earlier today Livingstone said: "A quarter of London's population is under the age of nineteen - they are the city's future. Living in an exciting, thriving diverse world city offers London's young people incredible opportunities, but it also creates unique problems for many of them."

ABOUT US

The Male Development Service (TMDS) is committed to the prevention of male social exclusion in all its forms. We aim to do this by providing training, support and services which are designed to tackle underachievement, male social exclusion and improve the outcomes for boys, young men and fathers as outlined under Every Child Matters and Every Parent Matters.

The Director of the Male Development Service is Melvyn Davis who originated and established the award winning boys2MEN Project in 1998. Melvyn and the original staff of boys2MEN set up TMDS in order to provide more efficient, cost effective, and holistic service where the needs of the users come first. TMDS specialises in providing a range of services in primary and secondary schools, colleges, as well as delivering programmes and resources for CAMHS, Connexions, Social Services, YOT's, Children Centres and Family Support Services.

TMDS aims to assist males who are considered vulnerable, challenging, and hard to reach or at risk of social exclusion, to rediscover their potential and to successfully make healthy transitions from childhood on to adulthood and ultimately on to successful parenthood.

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VACANCIES

TMDS currently has the following vacancies:

LEARNING MENTORS – We require Learning Mentors to join our pool of LSA’s to work in Primary & Secondary Schools. Full training and on-going support is provided.

FATHERS WORKERS - Are you interested in working with Fathers? Can you help young and new fathers develop their relationship with their children or help to develop programmes for fathers in Children Centres, give us a call. Training and on-going support provided.

MENTORS – TMDS needs experienced mentors to work with young people who are considered vulnerable or at risk. TMDS recruits male and female workers to assist it in its work in supporting vulnerable children and young people at risk. We provide accredited training, expenses and opportunities for personal and social development. To find out more, get in touch and we will send you an information pack.

BLACK MALE COUNSELLOR – Are you a qualified counsellor with experience of working with, children, young people and families? Do you have experience of relationship counselling? Do you have qualifications or experience of using creative therapies? Then we would like to hear from you?

Applications will be accepted for this post from individuals interested in casual or permanent employment. As a casual you would be required to work as and when required. No retainer fee is payable.

. Post holders are required to work substantially but not exclusively with male service users.

This post is advertised under the Race Relations Act 1976, Part 11, Section 5 (d).

VOLUNTEERS – Would you like to become a TMDS volunteer? We have real opportunities for volunteers to learn new skills, make a real difference and give something back to their communities. Our volunteers receive training, expenses and a recognised qualification.

VOLUNTEERING & MENTORING OPPORTUNITIES ACROSS
THE MALE DEVELOPMENT SERVICE

Mentoring in the community

• Mentoring in Primary schools with under achieving children (1-2 hours per week)
• Mentoring gifted and talented children (1-2 hours per week)
• Mentoring Young Advisors (1-2 hours per week)
• Mentoring disaffected / hard to reach young people (2-4 hours per week)
• Mentoring boys with emotional or behavioural difficulties (2-4 hours per week)
• Mentoring young fathers (2-4 hours per week)
• Mentoring Mothers Raising Sons (2–4 hours per week)
• Mentoring Ex-offenders (2–4 hours per week)

Volunteering opportunities

• Volunteer Office Administration (2 days per week)
• Volunteer Play worker (After School Club) (3 pm - 6 pm daily)
• Volunteer Home Support Worker - working with parents (2 hours per week)
• Volunteer Study Support Worker - children or adolescents (2 hours per week)

• Volunteer Fundraiser Negotiable
• Volunteer Photographer Flexible / as required
• Volunteer writer/artist Negotiable
• Volunteer Teacher / Learning Support Assistants Evenings & weekends
• Volunteer Youth Worker Evenings & weekends
• Volunteer Website designer/maintenance Negotiable
• Volunteer Management Committee Member 12 days per year
• Volunteer Trustee 12 days per year

If you are interested in any of the above posts please email for additional information or send us an up to date CV.

All opportunities are subject to satisfactory CRB checks and references


To find out more: call 020 8459 6371 or email admin@maledevelopmentservice.com

MENTORING TRAINING: Enrol now and train to become a mentor with TMDS - Accredited Course starting in March 08 - Call: 020 8459 6371



SERVICES WE PROVIDE:

- Mentoring (Accredited Volunteering & Mentoring Training)
- Developing Boys in Education
- Parent Support & Education Programmes
- Family Support & Crisis Intervention
- Working with Fathers (Young fathers, Supervised contact, Fathers in Schools, Contact issues, Support for Lone Fathers, etc)
- Looked After Children (Life Skills, Education, Interdependence Training)
- PSHE Workshops (Citizenship, Sexual Health, Drugs, Parenting & Relationships, Crime)
- Mental Health Services for boys and young men
- Men’s Health
- Domestic Violence Support for Men
- Counselling & Emotional Development
- Youth Offending & Offenders Resettlement Programme

We also provide staff in the following areas:

- Fathers Workers
- Learning Support Assistants
- Mentors in Schools, Colleges & Supported Housing Schemes

The Male Development Service provides workshops or programmes for parents, girls and in-house training for staff.
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OUR VISION

To meet the needs of boys, young men and young fathers, who are considered at risk of social exclusion and to enable them through the provision of effective support, to realise their full potential.

OUR PHILOSOPHY

‘A boy, a male and a man are not the same. They depict stages of development. A male is a biological term. A boy is in a state of transition. And a man is defined as someone who has a purpose and a greater sense of responsibility. We need to teach our children the difference.’

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OUR ETHOS

Good, better, best
Never let it rest
'Til your good is better
And your better is best!

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OUR AIMS & OBJECTIVES

1) The Male Development Service exists to challenge the negative stereotypes of men and masculinity and provides positive and nurturing opportunities for men to broaden their self perception and redefine themselves.

2) The Male Development Service aims to enable males to be better equipped to cope with life at all stages of change and transition (childhood, adolescence, adulthood and fatherhood) without resorting to negative behaviours such as the harm of self or others.

3) The Male Development Service seeks to provide boys with mentors/role models who will positively guide and influence them to higher standards of behaviour, self esteem, relationships with women and social responsibility.

4) The Male Development Service is committed to increasing the positive involvement of fathers in the lives of their children.

5) The Male Development Service recruits, trains and supports Mentors and Volunteers to achieve formally recognised qualifications in mentoring. We are particularly focused on increasing the number of men involved or working in early years and are a leading provider of staff (i.e. Father’s workers & Learning support assistants) to other agencies.

6) The Male Development Service is dedicated to improving the outcomes in all aspects of men’s health and emotional well-being.

7) The Male Development Service works to ensure the full inclusion of boys, and men from ethnic communities in all aspects of society by enabling them to realise their full potential through education, employment, training and all aspects of personal development.

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ABOUT OUR SERVICES

EDUCATION:

'One of the greatest challenges facing schools is the provision of appropriate learning opportunities for all pupils. Within schools there are pupils with a range of abilities from different cultures, religions and social backgrounds. Some of these pupils experience barriers to learning as a result of their disability, gender, special educational need, ethnicity, social group, or lack of support from home. Research shows that children from lower socio-economic backgrounds and/ or specific ethnic and social groups are more likely to underachieve at school. This may lead to disaffection, low self-esteem, and marginalisation and, in some cases, formal exclusion from school.'

The Multi Inclusion Schools Scheme (MISS) is dedicated to raising the achievement of all children. The programme provides bespoke services to primary and secondary schools to tackle the problems associated with underachievement. The Male Development Service is well known for its work with difficult and hard to reach black boys, young people and fathers. Over the years our work has expanded to include work with girls, parents and children from other ethnic backgrounds. As a result we are now in a position to offer schools a unique tailored packages of support made up of a range of initiatives.

The aim of MISS is to raise achievement by providing an easily accessible comprehensive package of support to schools. Using an integrated approach that involves the pupil, the school, the parents and a comprehensive range of tailored support is made available to affect change and achieve the desired outcomes. In partnership with the schools SENCO, the child and the parents, our MISS Coordinator undertakes an assessment to determine the needs and then provides packages of support from the range of services below.

Packages of support can include: ~ Mentoring ~ Learning Support Assistants ~ Home School Liaison ~ Counselling ~ Fathers Inclusion Programmes ~ Parenting Workshops ~ Anger Management Programmes ~ Home Tuition ~ Homework Club ~ Booster Classes ~ Transition Programmes ~ Sports Activities ~ Music Programmes.

MISS means that schools no longer need to run around trying to find and introduce new or different services to tackle a range of needs. Packages of support are available at affordable rates to enable schools to assess the support that they, the parents or their students may need.

The key to our work in schools is to work in partnership with the SENCO and other agencies. We adopt a can-do, flexible, needs led approach that finds solutions to the barriers that prevent some children realising their full potential. We see our role as helping you to achieve what parents also want, the best for their children.

For more information about The Multi Inclusion Schools Scheme email: info@maledevelopmentservice.com

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CHECK US OUT ON FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6149670919

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HOW TO COMMISSION TMDS – boyztoMEN SERVICES?

To find out how you or your agency/organisation can engage any of our programmes or services please call us on:

020 8459 6371 or email: admin@maledevelopmentservice.com

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WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT

- Would you like to become a mentor or a volunteer?
- Would you like to raise funds to support our work, programme or a young person?
- Would you like to sponsor one of our programmes?
- Would you like to work in partnership with us?

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HOW TO CONTACT US:

For general enquires email: info@maledevelopmentservice.com

For information about our full range of programmes email: admin@maledevelopmentservice.com

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IN THE NEWS

The following references highlight the impact and significance of the work undertaken by Melvyn Davis (the founder of the boys2MEN Project) and his team. Melvyn established TMDS in 2006 which now services for boys, young men and fathers as part of a unique programme of mentoring support unlike any other. As the founder of the boys2MEN Programme, Melvyn has a unique insight into what works, why it works and how services for boys, young men and fathers need to be delievered.

boyztoMEN goes to Australia - on TV
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/9am-melvyn-davis/974620962
On the radio: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/lifematters/stories/2007/1965842.htm



Working with Teenage Fathers
http://www.skfm.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1162

In the Voice - A gang free lifestyle
http://www.voice-online.co.uk/content.php?show=13298

Launching the London Youth Offer with the Mayor
http://www.mayorwatch.co.uk/article.php?slug=Mayor-Announces-£5m-Youth-Funding-Package&article_id=1391
http://www.london.gov.uk/view_press_release.jsp?releaseid=15856


Gang Warfare - the insurgency on our streets
The Daily Mirror
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/tm_headline=the-lost-boys-and-girls-who-fight-out-an-awful-insurgency-on-our-streets----&method=full&objectid=18767792&siteid=89520-name_page.html

In the Londoner - Not born bad
http://www.london.gov.uk/londoner/08mar/p4a.jsp?nav=news

On Fatherhood (correction: I have a daughter not a son)
http://www.baaa.org.uk/research.php

On Masculinity & Fatherhood
Richard Morrison
Oh father (or indeed father figure) where art thou?
The Times August 08, 2005

"The best thing to happen in social work recently has been the emergence of projects such as boys2MEN. Trendy title notwithstanding, it’s an admirable scheme that uses exclusively male mentors to steer boys without stable family backgrounds through the transition to adulthood. It offers them sports, music, skills training — and, most of all, a positive attitude to life."

CHILDREN NOW
Black boys: The culture of achievement
18 January 2005

African Caribbean boys are falling behind other ethnic groups academically. However, as Michele Kirsch reveals, new initiatives are being set up to turn this trend around.

boys2MEN's brief has expanded dramatically since it was set up in 1998 in response to the growing social and educational needs of African Caribbean boys. For instance, a report last year by the Education Commission for London highlighted the widening achievement gap between African Caribbean boys and other ethnic groups when it comes to education; in 2003 70 per cent of African Caribbean pupils left school with fewer than five higher-grade GCSEs.

As a result, boys2MEN is one of a growing number of organisations springing up to help Black boys channel their energy into productive activities, and to provide good role models within the Black male community. Set up with funding by the Home Office Family Support Grant, boys2MEN has been inundated with referrals, at first from leaving care teams, but later from youth offending services, education officers, and child and adolescent mental health services.

For project manager Melvyn Davis, a holistic approach is crucial in helping the boys with all aspects of their lives. "A young person may have been referred because he's at risk from exclusion, underachieving academically or offending," he explains. "We aim to create an impact on that young person's self-image and identity, and build a closer relationship between them and their parents."

To achieve this, boys2MEN sends male facilitators into primary schools and runs sessions on anger management, personal development, social skills and mentoring. It uses music, arts, drama, video and other activities to make learning fun. "The boys open up to us more as males because they ask us questions they don't feel comfortable discussing with female teachers or their mothers,"

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YOUNG PEOPLE NOW MAGAZINE
21/09/05

GROUP WORK AT boys2MEN

"Before boys2MEN I was on the streets, I wasn't caught by the police but I was doing bad things," says Leandro Dantas. Since joining he has realised many things. Work on social skills and sessions on fatherhood have helped him understand the responsibility for his actions. "I came close to becoming a father. This made me think that by getting someone pregnant I was cheating myself."

The scheme works with boys and men in Kilburn, and runs outreach work in other London boroughs. The majority of staff are male, and most of the young people it works with are Black, many of whom don't know their fathers. Parents are involved via weekly groups.

One mother, Jenny Williams, says boys2MEN saved her son's life. "I don't think Nathaniel would be here otherwise. It got to the point where I couldn't stand him," she says. "The project doesn't take sides - it listens to the young person and the parents, so we can have a conversation."

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Alison Benjamin
Wednesday October 5, 2005
The Guardian

MODEL BEHAVIOUR

Black male mentors provide father-figure guidance to help set things straight for unruly boys excluded from schools

Vorlet Nicco was worried that Ryan, her nine-year-old son, was going to end up as a statistic. Excluded from school for emotional and behavioural problems, he was on his way to being "just another troublesome black boy", she says.

Of the 9,880 pupils permanently excluded from school in 2003-04, black children were nearly three times more likely to be punished this way than white youngsters. But a mentoring scheme in north London that provides positive black male role models for boys aged as young as five, many of whom have little or no contact with their fathers, is helping to transform the behaviour of the most disruptive pupils and, in many cases, getting them back into mainstream school.

Melvyn Davis, Project Manager of the boys2MEN scheme, says problems often stem from not having a man around. "There can be a lot of cheek and posturing at home because of a lack of boundaries," he says. "Many sons may have witnessed domestic violence. We are able to socialise them differently and teach them ways to get out their anger and frustrations."

"Between the ages of about seven and nine, there can be a dramatic change among boys as they try to establish their male identity, and without a dad it can be difficult," Davis says. "They need endorsement of their masculinity by a male who can say, 'I'm proud of you.'"

The mentoring scheme is just one of the services it provides for young black males going through the turbulent transition from childhood to adulthood and even fatherhood.

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WHAT OTHERS HAVE SAID...

MP David Lammy said “ boys2MEN is an excellent project, targeting some of our most hard to reach and disillusioned young people. Melvyn and his team are a dedicated set of individuals who get admirable results from the men and boys they work with. I hope that this sort of initiative will be adopted throughout the country".