Men's Resource Center for Change

CONTACT:

236 No. Pleasant St.
Amherst, MA 01002
413-253-9887 Ext. 20
mensresourcecenter.org

Rob Okun, Executive Director

DESCRIPTION:

In 1981 several men from western Massachusetts attended a conference at Tufts on the culture of men and masculinity in America, and came away deciding to create a grassroots men’s network against sexism -- “to challenge the dominant paradigms of masculinity that uphold and perpetuate violence and oppression in our culture.” More than 20 years later this group has a national and international reputation; it has provided training and consultations in seven states and seven foreign countries, has been featured twice on Oprah, on CBS’s 48 Hours and Japan’s television network, and has consulted and trained numerous local, state, regional, national and international organizations and has won several awards. From its offices in Amherst and Springfield, its programs serve Berkshire, Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties, and southern Vermont and New Hampshire. MOVE (Men Overcoming Violence) is a state-certified batterers’ intervention program with 14 groups for men who are abusive and controlling in their intimate relationships. The Men's Resource Center sponsors various groups for fathers, young men, and prisoners, and on ethnic, racial, and gender/sexual-orientation issues. Their quarterly magazine, Voice Male, has a circulation of 10,000 in 40 states and a dozen foreign countries. They are well-managed -- they own their own office building and have broadened their funding sources enough to absorb the vagaries of cuts in state funding. Clearly they are addressing real needs very effectively. If you believe in their mission, this is your opportunity to support it.

(2003: HUMAN SERVICES: Well-Being)