Tips for Getting (and Keeping) Guys Involved

Andrew Levack, who directs the Gender Matters initiative in Austin, TX, for EngenderHealth, an international reproductive health organization, and Michael Hayes, deputy for family initiatives in the Child Support Division of the Texas Office of the Attorney General, outlined some strategies for making young men feel welcome:

• Have outreach workers go to places like sporting events, basketball courts, pool halls, barber shops, and local hangouts where young men congregate.
• Offer services that bring men in, such as sports physicals and testing for sexually transmitted infections.
• Offer specific hours dedicated to young men.

Once you get guys in the door, keep them there.

• Design your program’s waiting area with young men in mind, with magazines and posters geared toward guys.
• Make sure providers are trained specifically in men’s issues and comfortable counseling young men on questions related to puberty, STDs, peer pressure, fatherhood and job training.

And make sure your messages engage them.

• Talk about financial responsibility and the costs of becoming a parent, which has a special resonance with young men.
• Focus on decision-making skills and communication skills, like specific strategies young men can use to initiate conversations about contraception. Programs that help young men build skills boost their self-esteem, and that, in turn, helps them respect their partners.