Programs & Services
MOVING FORWARD:
MOVE Domestic Abuse Program
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 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 three groups each in Amherst and Springfield. Groups are also held in Athol, Belchertown, Greenfield and North Adams.
Anger Management Classes
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.
Conscious Communication
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.
Youth Violence Prevention
Youth Violence Prevention groups for young men between the ages of 14 and 18. Groups are 10 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.
Support Programs: 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 weekly drop-in groups facilitated by trained volunteers.
Follow this link for more information, times and locations.
Support Groups Program Contact: Support Groups
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.
Contact us to join the Fathers and Family Network mailing list or to schedule a workshop.
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. In recent years we have led groups 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.
Contact us about how we can help your school or youth-serving agency.
Workshops, Trainings and 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
Training and Consulting to Men's Organizations
The MRC has provided trainings and consultation to beginning and existing organizations dedicated to working with men on both individual and societal change. Our work has taken us as far as Japan and Siberia, and as nearby as Worcester, Mass. and Keene, N.H. And men and women have come to us from Kirghizstan, Japan, Scandinavia, Nova Scotia, South Africa, and around the United States to learn more about our model of supporting men and challenging men's violence. Learn about our extensive networking and support for men's work worldwide.
Contact us about our workshops and training
Resource and Referral
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. On-line resources for abuse survivors.