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As the calendar turns to June, it is now Men乌鸦传媒檚 Mental Health Awareness Month, an area that乌鸦传媒檚 often overlooked.

Men are over-represented in all of these statistics around being unhoused, drug abuse, alcohol abuse and suicide, said Carol Bilson, director of operations at the Anti-Violence Project.

乌鸦传媒淎bout 70 per cent who commit suicide are male,乌鸦传媒� she said.

In 2022, of the more than 227 British Columbians who died of suicide, 184 were men. Additionally, there were 2,511 toxic drug deaths in 2023, and 71 per cent of those were men, according to the BC Centre for Disease Control.

While the feminist movement did wonders for feminism and what it meant to be a woman, said Bilson, a similar movement within men is needed but has yet to happen.

乌鸦传媒淥ur society just hinders men乌鸦传媒檚 capacity to connect and relate to others,乌鸦传媒� she said.

This can mean having a more challenging time processing trauma, dealing with rejection and becoming violent towards either the person they were interested in or themselves.

乌鸦传媒淭he gender expectation that we put on men and masculinity is unnecessary and doubles down the harm.乌鸦传媒�

Suicide is the second or third leading cause of death for men aged 19 to 44 and for men aged 15 to 25. Outside of motor vehicle accidents, there is little else killing them, said John Oliffe, research chair in the Men乌鸦传媒檚 Health Research Program at UBC.

For many years, we乌鸦传媒檝e discussed how traditional ideas of masculinity may have been unhelpful to many men, Oliffe said. Now, there乌鸦传媒檚 a focus on the concept of toxic masculinity and the negative behaviours associated with it.

乌鸦传媒淲hen you乌鸦传媒檙e young, you especially buy into the norms that guide your identity, your role, and sometimes your values, which can be persuasive for many young guys.乌鸦传媒�

Bilson said young men and boys are told to bury most of their emotions and are often left with two feelings 乌鸦传媒� anger and happiness.

乌鸦传媒淲e haven乌鸦传媒檛 created a society where it乌鸦传媒檚 safe for men to feel. We don乌鸦传媒檛 want to be in proximity to men suffering. Two things have to happen. We must get close to men乌鸦传媒檚 pain and suffering and understand what乌鸦传媒檚 happening.乌鸦传媒�

Bilson previously worked with abuse survivors and was compelled to start helping to heal men after listening to the women she had been counselling.

乌鸦传媒淎s someone who supports survivors of violence and someone who works with men, I feel like we cannot separate those two. The health and mental health of men determines the safety of women.乌鸦传媒�

Gender expectations, in general, are archaic, but expectations around masculinity have not been needed for a long time, Bilson said.

乌鸦传媒淎ll those things left these old notions that only men provide and protect. And that乌鸦传媒檚 all we require of them, to bring home the bacon. We did a disservice to men, genuinely,乌鸦传媒� added Bilson.

乌鸦传媒淢en are being asked to reimagine masculinity, and I think it乌鸦传媒檚 because of society乌鸦传媒檚 ideas of what women were supposed to do, and who was supposed to bring the income and who was supposed to raise children. All of that has been completely flipped on its head.乌鸦传媒�

Increasingly, some young men have started turning to 乌鸦传媒榯oxic乌鸦传媒� male influencers.

乌鸦传媒淭he masculinity that they乌鸦传媒檙e projecting, first of all, is a familiar masculinity,乌鸦传媒� Bilson said.

It doesn乌鸦传媒檛 ask people to change, she said.

乌鸦传媒淚 always say, the patriarchy sells men fake power. It乌鸦传媒檚 an external power. And it乌鸦传媒檚 a fake power structure.乌鸦传媒�

More men are needed in caring professions like nursing, therapy and education, said Carl Haynes, Men乌鸦传媒檚 Education & Research Coordinator at the Anti-Violence Project.

乌鸦传媒淲ith the baby boomers aging out and going into retirement and old age, there乌鸦传媒檚 going to be an increased need for these care professions,乌鸦传媒� Haynes said.

An increasing lack of male educators has also worried Haynes, as there is a lack of positive male role models for young men.

乌鸦传媒淭his is where you see other men stepping in, through social media and filling the gap,乌鸦传媒� Haynes said.

In May, Our Place in Victoria surveyed the unhoused along Pandora Avenue.

乌鸦传媒淚t is about 77 per cent,乌鸦传媒� said Grant McKinnon, communications director at Our Place. 乌鸦传媒淯sually, it is about 80 per cent.乌鸦传媒�

On the vulnerability index, when it comes to the unhoused, men are less likely to move into supportive housing, with the average age of a male on the street being 55.

When it comes to unhoused youth, about 63 per cent of young people in shelters are male.

The reasons why men and women are unhoused are complex, but generally, men are not running and hiding from abusive spouses. And men might find themselves on the street after a mental health concern or an injury.

There is a lot of shame around being unhoused, even for those who eventually find a house. Many men do not want to share their experiences for fear of being negatively judged, said McKinnon.

乌鸦传媒淎dding to the problem, men often go into the bushes like a wounded animal and isolate themselves,乌鸦传媒� McKinnon said.

It is up to men to help fix other men. Women have been doing the heavy lifting for too long, according to Bilson and is one of the driving forces behind a popular social media trend where women are choosing to find a metaphorical bear in the forest rather than date a man.

乌鸦传媒淚t is a very legitimate concern. Because the struggle might be ongoing and permanent, and to be assaulted, to be sexually assaulted, to be abused, to be humiliated, has long-term lifetime impacts.乌鸦传媒�

It will be a one-time experience, and it乌鸦传媒檒l probably be done, versus a long time of suffering and trying to recover your self-esteem and sense of self-worth,乌鸦传媒� Bilson said.

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