About

The Problem

With 43% of urban teens living away from their fathers, 42% of fathers failing to see their children after divorce, and an estimated 24.7 million children being raised without their biological fathers, there is an epidemic of sizable proportion that suggests we need a more significant effort to reach boys during their most formidable years.*

Our History

Founded in 2008, Journeymen is a nonsectarian, non-partisan, non-profit organization created by men for the specific purpose of mentoring boys 12-17 years of age through their passage into manhood. Our program is modeled after the work of Boys to Men, an international non-profit that, through its mentoring program and rites of passage adventure weekends, has powerfully impacted the lives of more than 3,000 boys and men throughout the world.

The Journeymen Program

Journeymen is staffed by dozens of committed men who have undertaken their own journeys of personal development. Our team of mentors and facilitators create a safe and stimulating environment, that supports and challenges boys in their epic transition to adulthood.
 

• Through ongoing mentoring groups and individual mentoring relationships we provide adolescent boys (12-17) with ongoing guidance and support on their journey into manhood.
• Twice each year we offer a rite of passage weekend experience, which provides a safe and powerful container for boys to consciously envision what kind of men they can be.
• Once each month the mentors and staff of Journeymen meet to provide mutual support and guidance to strengthen our ability to mentor youth with compassion and dignity.
• Several times each year we take the young men of Journeymen (whom we call J-Men) on outings and overnight trips. Some are community service projects, some are fun-centered outings, in which our mentors can further model authentic manhood while strengthening our bonds of friendship and community with the J-Men.

* Sources: Youthviews, Gallup Youth Survey 4 (June, 1997), Frank F. Furstenberg, Jr. and Christine Winguist Nord, “Parenting Apart,” Journal of Marriage and the Family, and National Fatherhood Initiative, Father Facts, (3rd Edition): 5