Assist boys to become good men.
“It is easier to build a strong boy than repair a broken man…”
For our vocational visit this week we participated in an interesting inspiring informational night listening to Paul McGregor and Brett Guest from Boys To The Bush (BTTB) at their new premises on Wamoon Avenue.
Boys to the Bush Ltd. is a Registered Not-for-Profit, Community-based Charity that focuses on preventative and early intervention strategies for ‘disengaged’ young males. It has a proven history of being able to engage with and improve outcomes, for some of our communities’ most vulnerable youth. Boys to the Bush (BttB) offer a range of programs all aimed at supporting the boys to become better men in the future.
Core Values are engagement, Resilience and Community
BttB mission is to provide an environment free from the distractions in their lives, allowing boys the opportunity to be surrounded by positive influences and giving them opportunities to succeed. Encouraging mate ship, resilience and a sense of belonging. BTTB has helped hundreds of disengaged boys from all over Australia. Their goal is to increase our capacity to connect and engage with young males; creating better sons, students, employees, fathers, husbands and ultimately, better men.
A few interesting facts:
- Males are 3 times more likely to die by suicide than females.
- 4 out of 5 people in the juvenile system are males
- 50 000 Australian kids are living in Out-Of-Home-Care arrangement
- BttB is engaging with youth
- BttB are creating better: fathers, sons, husbands, brothers, employees for the future
- BttB is changing lives
BttB offers a variety of camps at different times during the year and at a number of different locations. The camps are an opportunity for the boys to experience life in the bush. They range from a weekend to multiple night camps and the boys experience a number of activities that they would normally not have the opportunity to experience.
BttB has implemented the MENtoring program to compliment the camp program. This program was originally implemented so that there was support for the boys post-camp. Now it is available for boys in a variety of programs from 1:1, small group and school group mentoring programs linking the boys into mentors in their community.
Paul and Brett also told us about the BttB school programs which are run one day a week for a five week period. The School Programs target groups is boys in years 5-6. BttB School MENtoring programs have had great success with boys experiencing one or a combination of the following; poor behaviour, poor attendance; lack of social skills; disengagement and/or come from a challenging home environment and this program may also be a reward for others.
Schools nominate candidates based on the above. Up to 10 candidates in total. Students are picked up from and returned to, their schools on the nominated days. The boys are be supervised by BttB staff X2-(Schools can send staff at their discretion). The program will conclude with a school assembly presentation.
The program goals are to: promote and demonstrate respectful relationships; allow the boys the opportunity to ‘connect’ with each other, their school and wider community; promote resilience among the group; for school participants to build a stronger rapport with school staff; surround the boys with positive male influences and connect with local Indigenous Culture.
Activities may include: bush cooking; visits to local farms; cultural activities; industry visits; recreational sessions (kyaks, fishing) and camp preparation and skills.
How can we help? Everyone can do something You can donate: your skills/expertise, financially, goods/services. You can also: fundraise, cook meals, volunteer your time, invite us to your farm/business and/or help promote what we are doing.
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