Once we have sufficient funding (see Charitable Donations page for how to assist us in that regard) we plan to implement the following services:

1. •organize conferences (beginning in St. Louis) which focus on the issues of men’s emotional wellness, with a primary emphasis on men in intimate relationships; and male sexual trauma survivors
   

2. •draft and promote educational programs on men’s emotional wellness that will be presented at public schools and to interested community and academic groups
   

3. •obtain contracts from the state government and foundations, for the purpose of working with fathers to teach them about healthy emotions and more nurturing ways to interact with their children
   

4. •formulate and market educational programs on men’s emotional wellness that will be presented in conjunction with employee assistance programs {EAP} at company and corporate locations.
   

Later, as our credibility in the professional community increases, we plan to:

1. •initiate certification training programs for mental health professionals which focus on the unique issues faced by male sexual trauma survivors
   

2. •engage in mass marketing of images and concepts focused on men’s emotional wellness so that a much larger number of males (than is presently the case) will be exposed to this perspective
   

3. •engage in mass marketing the statistics and issues faced by male sexual trauma survivors, in an effort to modify the cultural perception about the extensiveness of this problem
   

4. •encourage male sexual trauma survivors to speak up about their victimization, and to seek intervention for their traumatic outcomes
   

5. •organize a national clearinghouse of information concerning mental health resources for male sexual trauma survivors and for fathers
   

6. •establish ‘safe houses’ where male sexual trauma survivors can safely work on gaining access to their memories and work through them with the assistance of counselors
   

7. •formulate processes to make use of bodyworkers (Trager, massage, acupuncture and acupressure, myofacial) to assist trauma survivors to access and work through their memories on a somatic level
   

8. •establish ‘men’s safe houses’ for male victims of domestic violence, either at the hands of female or male partners
   

9. •formulate and distribute informational material on pathways to healthy fatherhood
   

10. •work with young children and adolescents (both male and female) to apprentice them in healthier visions of responsible and nurturing manhood.
    

It is indeed an ambitious plan, but then men in St. Louis (and the nation) deserve no less. We have too long negated the experience of fathers and male sexual trauma survivors, and we have for too long promoted a patriarchal culture tat creates a reality for me that is not in their best interests. It is time for action, not words; time for movement and change!

Mariposa Men’s Wellness Institute was founded in 2001

to help men become emotionally healthy.