Working With Men (WWM) is a multi-award-winning specialist charity supporting positive male activity, engagement and involvement in London.

WWM has expertise in the challenges of, and solutions for, working with boys and men who are socially or economically disadvantaged, marginalised or isolated.

Our interventions focus on transitional times in life such as starting school, getting a job and becoming a parent. These are the times when men and boys are most likely to encounter challenges and to seek help.

Our aim is to significantly reduce the number of boys and men, particularly from excluded or disadvantaged backgrounds, who are unable to achieve their full potential to become productive and active members of society.

WHO WE ARE

OUR EXPERTISE

OUR OBJECTIVES

OUR FOCUS

OVERVIEW

O TO 5 5 TO 10 10 TO 15 15 TO 20 20 TO 25

Fathers seek help during the perinatal period, while mothers of young boys seek help with behavioural issues.

Primary school boys from disadvantaged backgrounds often suffer from exclusion as they struggle with school rules.

Young men historically experience difficulties moving from primary to secondary school.

Boys are learning about manhood and thinking about next steps. Some are fathers. Some have already left school.

Young men are out on the streets, some looking for work. Some are involved in illegal activity and have been arrested.

EXPECTANT FATHERS

FATHERS DEVELOPMENT

BOYS DEVELOPMENT

PRIMARY TRANSITION

SECONDARY TRANSITION

AMBERLEY PROJECT

BRIDGE PROJECT

UNCUT PROJECT

AMBERLEY PROJECT

MENTAL HEALTH PROJECT

VENTORING PROJECT

FATHERS DEVELOPMENT

UNCUT PROJECT

VENTORING PROJECT

FATHERS DEVELOPMENT

YOUNG FATHERS

INTERVENING ACROSS THE LIFE CYCLE OF YOUNG MEN

Four in 10 boys cannot write a simple shopping list (compared to two in 10 girls). One in 10 cannot count to 10. Inner city boys are three times more likely than girls to be permanently excluded from school.

THE NEED FOR INTERVENTION

EDUCATION MENTAL HEALTH VICTIMISATION EMPLOYMENT

Boys under ten are nearly twice as likely to suffer from mental health disorders as girls. 80% of suicides among young people are of males. Boys under the age of 16 are also more likely to be in care than girls of the same age.

Almost one in three victims of child sexual exploitation are male. Young men in the UK are most likely to be the victims of online fraud and of violent and hate crime, including violence committed by knife and gun crime.

Young men have been hit hardest by declining wages since the financial crisis. Young men also make up the majority of new claimants for the government's new Universal Credit benefits system.

Last year we worked with 790 boys across 10 secondary schools and 7 primary schools in London. Our intervention led to:

EVIDENCE THAT OUR INTERVENTION WORKS

WORKING WITH BOYS IN SCHOOLS WORKING WITH BOYS ON THE STREETS

Last year we worked with over 500 hard to reach young men across West London. Our intervention led to:

improved scores for peer relationships57%

improved scores for aggression and misbehaviour46%

improved scores for commitment to school48%

beginning employment, training or apprenticeships56

studying at college (and 4 at university)16

diverted directly from anti-social behaviour43

getting involved in youth and community projects139

acquiring new job skills and dealing with their mental health issues

77

*These scores are taken directly from the strengths and difficulties

questionnaires devised by the Social Research Unit at Dartington and

completed during the programme itself with the input of students and

teachers. All students taking part stabilised their behaviour overall

regardless of improving their scores.

EVIDENCE THAT OUR INTERVENTION WORKS

The additional Impact of our work in schools

WORKING WITH YOUNGER FATHERS-WHY?

We work with fathers as young as 14. Among 15-17 year old offenders 12% have children of their own (Prisons Inspectorate estimate); and among those aged 22 and under, nearly half are (or are about to become) fathers. Over half have been in care; many have experienced violence or sexual abuse at home; and few have had models of good fathering.

EVIDENCE THAT OUR INTERVENTION WORKS

We found that, fathers that engaged in our services showed a significant shift in parenting style during this time from permissive to authoritative which is initial evidence that working with fathers has positive longer term impact on not just the father but also the child in question. Additionally, children under two years of age of fathers who are more engaged in parenting services were measurably more advanced developmentally than those that had not engaged. (Dr Bourne-Royal Holloway University)