There is a call for men to be allowed feel safe enough to voice their emotions and struggles and not be considered “a soft man.”
Port-of-Spain West MP Stuart Young made yesterday, as he men are crying out for safe spaces where they can openly, honestly and safely discuss issues affecting them.
Young was speaking during the launch of the 2024 MPower TT, a mentorship programme aimed at empowering men to realise their full potential with the help of mentors.
Young said too often, men are criticised for being vulnerable.
“Our young men in society are desperately crying out to us for safe spaces that we can come and we can be vulnerable in, spaces that we can come and talk about the reality of what we are facing. For a very long time, men were not allowed that space to really express what you are really feeling, because you are (considered) a soft man,” Young said.
Minister of Sport and Community Development Shamfa Cudjoe-Lewis, under whose purview the programme falls, reminded participants it was their duty to make better choices.
Noting many young men are often not aware of their true strength, she said, “For me, our young men are just that black diamond, diamonds in the rough that if we put the work in, we do the scintillating, we take them through the process, we nature, we invest in them, then we will get to see their real worth.”
She said the aim is not only to reduce crime but help young men develop.
“It’s about basic human dignity, it’s about love, it’s about respect, it’s about living, it’s about serving, it’s about doing what God placed us on this earth to do,” she said.
Each cycle of the MPower TT runs for four months.