Multicultural Men's Group of SA

The Multicultural Communities Council of SA (MCCSA) hosted a successful Men’s Health Forum for men from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Background in June 2019. Feedback from the forum attendees identified the need for a source of support for men from multicultural background living in South Australia, hence the formation of the Multicultural Men’s Group of SA.

Migrant men or men from refugee background are faced with a myriad of problems in their resettlement journey and their most common challenge is keeping the family together. A sense of breakdown in communication, financial woes, poor understanding of the new system and loss of identity has led to hostile divorces, fostered children, imprisonment and return to country of origin for some fathers.

The main goal of our multicultural Men’s group is to provide advocacy and support whilst working with MCCSA and other service providers. The Group will also provide strategic direction and leadership to help improve health and socio-economic wellbeing of men from CALD communities in South Australia. We aim to achieve this by:

• Providing a safe space where men can feel welcome to meet other men and share their stories in confidence. Informal approach to meetings is intended to create a comfortable atmosphere for information sessions whereby service providers are invited to visit and talk about their services.
• Encouraging and supporting men from CALD background to form social men’s group for their respective communities and link communities to reputable service providers that are culturally sensitive to the needs of men of CALD background.
• Hosting information sessions, events and activities for men’s groups that promote respectful behaviors whilst also normalizing discussions around mental wellbeing and DV related issues in order to break stigma.

Before the COVID 19 outbreak we met at the MCCSA where we deliberated on events and social activities for the group. Currently we have formed a steering committee comprising men from both mainstream and CALD background. We’ve also set up a Multicultural Men’s Group of SA Facebook page, which we encourage men in SA to like so we can provide them with relevant information as and when necessary.

The group is open to all South Australian men. For more information on how you can get involved in this program contact Sidique Bah via the email below.

Modality

Face-to-face & Zoom

Duration

The Multicultural Men’s Group of SA is an ongoing program that is set up by the MCCSA to identify and address the some of the challenges facing men from CALD backgrounds in South Australia.