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Mentoring Men

Published on: June 2023

Record: HANSARD-1323879322-132630

Mentoring Men

Ms FELICITY WILSON (North Shore)

—I want to recognise the outstanding work of the Mentoring Men organisation across our local community. On average, nine people in Australia take their own lives, seven of whom are men. One in eight men are likely to experience depression in their lifetime, one in five are likely to experience anxiety in their lifetime, and 45 per cent of men will experience mental health challenges. Mentoring Men runs programs focused on men's mental health to making a lasting impact that will reduce the numbers of these statistics. The Mentoring Men Program has successfully reached over 1,400 men across Australia and now, thanks to funding by the Sydney North Health Network, the service will be expanded across northern Sydney. This expansion will bring the availability of approximately 130 mentors and three mentor peer support groups to help men in the local area. Mentoring Men aims to prevent crises by matching at-risk men with trained mentors for six to twelve months, and volunteer mentors receive extensive training in suicide prevention to provide non‑judgmental support and proactive prevention strategies. I congratulate Mentoring Men for all their incredible work ensuring that men who are experiencing challenges or changes have someone listening.