Overview of Programs & Services

MOVING FORWARD: From Domestic Abuse to Healthy Relationships

The MRC's Moving Forward program incorporates domestic abuse prevention (batterer intervention), anger management, youth violence prevention, and healthy relationships.

MOVE is the MRC state-certified batterers' intervention program. Since 1989, we have been offering groups for men who act abusively and controlling in their intimate relationships. We also work one on one with women. Following an extensive intake interview, participants attend weekly two-hour groups for 40 weeks. Groups are facilitated by a man and a woman. A select number of clients who have completed the 40-week program are invited to participate in a follow-up group. Extensive counseling and support services are available to the partners and/or ex-partners of clients in the group.

Groups are held in all four western Massachusetts counties, including five groups in Amherst and three in Springfield. Single groups are also held in Athol, Belchertown, Greenfield and Pittsfield. Click here to view schedule.

Moving Forward also offers other programs at the MRC's main office. These include:

Anger Management groups for men and women. Fifteen weeks in length, each class runs for an hour and a half. They are designed for men and women who have difficulty managing anger in various facets of their life.

Youth Violence Prevention groups for young men between the ages of 14 and 18. Groups are 12 weeks long and are designed for teenage males who have been abusive or violent (physically, emotionally, verbally, or mentally) with their families, peers, or dating partners.

Healthy Relationships workshops and groups. These include a periodic series of eight-week long, two-hour groups where participants learn Conscious Communication, a workshop technique for individuals and couples to improve relationships. Trainings and presentations on related topics are also offered.

SUPPORT PROGRAM: Men's Health Begins by Talking

Since 1993, the MRC has been providing support groups for men to discuss their lives in a safe, confidential environment. We offer five weekly drop-in groups facilitated by trained volunteers.

Three of the groups are for any man, one is for men who have experienced childhood abuse/neglect, and one is for gay/bisexual/questioning men and for gay-identified, female-to-male transgendered men. Groups are currently held at the Men's Resource Center in Amherst and in Northampton and Greenfield.

General issue: Sundays in Amherst, Tuesdays in Northampton, Wednesdays in Greenfield

Gay/Bisexual and Questioning Men: Monday in Amherst

Men Who Experienced Childhood Abuse or Neglect: Friday in Amherst

Fathering Program

The MRC coordinates quarterly programs for family providers in the western region of Massachusetts who wish to improve their skills working with fathers. The program is a collaboration between our organization and the Fathers and Family Network of the Massachusetts Children's Trust Fund. We also present workshops for parents and teachers which focus on raising and educating young boys. In addition, we design workshops that encourage families to explore ways to share parenting responsibilities and challenge men to become more involved fathers and/or mentors for boys and girls.

Gay/Bisexual/Questioning Men's Networking Events

The MRC sponsors periodic social networking events for gay/bisexual/questioning men. These gatherings (held in Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin Counties) are opportunities for GBQ men from diverse backgrounds and geographical locations to connect with others in a safe, alcohol-free and drug-free environment to network and build community.

YOUTH PROGRAMS: Taking the Journey to Healthy Manhood

The Men's Resource Center for Change facilitates a variety of groups for middle and high school-aged boys in school and after school, as well as leading a weekly Young Men of Color group at the MRC. Our youth groups focus on providing support for young men as they navigate the journey to manhood. Groups are currently held or are being scheduled for later this school year at:

Easthampton (Whitebrook Middle School)

Holyoke (after school programs for Kelly Middle School and Holyoke High School)

Huntington (Gateway Middle School)

Springfield (Forest Park Middle School)--in collaboration with the University of Massachusetts at Amherst

In addition, we offer workshops addressing gender-role stereotyping and other trainings for school personnel.

WORKSHOPS, TRAININGS & CONSULTATION

The Men's Resource Center offers a variety of workshops and trainings for government departments, social service agencies, academic institutions, businesses and corporations, and community organizations. Topics include:

Raising and Educating Boys

Fathering and Fatherhood

Working with Men Who Batter

Manhood in a Time of War

Strategies to Reduce the Stress of Parenting

Building a Men's Center

RESOURCE & REFERRAL SERVICES

The MRC maintains an extensive resource and referral list, providing resources for people seeking assistance in a number of areas including those looking for psychotherapists, lawyers, mediators, life coaches, emergency services, housing agencies, and support groups. Specific resources are also available for fathers, gay/bisexual/questioning men, and men who have experienced childhood abuse, or sexual assault or domestic violence as adults. For links to on-line resources for abuse survivors, click here.

VOICE MALE MAGAZINE: New Visions of Manhood

Voice Male, the quarterly magazine of the Men's Resource Center for Change, explores critical issues related to new definitions of masculinity and manhood. Articles examine mens isolation and violence, champion boys' and young men's journey to healthy manhood, and give voice to men articulating a new vision of manhood. Columns on men's health, fathering, youth, men of color, men who have survived abuse, and gay/bisexual/questioning men, are augmented by articles ranging from male violence in sports to pornography's manipulation of men; from how men cope with father loss to how women and men can work together for gender justice. Voice Male is mailed to subscribers across the U.S. and overseas and distributed in central New England.