United Way of North Central MA awards $90K for youth mental, behavioral health

Article here. Excerpt:

'United Way of North Central Massachusetts recently awarded $90,000 in grants to eight local agencies for youth mental and behavioral health initiatives. The grants are part of a new area of work that seeks to address challenges faced by young people arising from increased isolation during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

One pilot program funded from the grants is Males Advocating Change (MAC), a program that will engage middle school, high school and college-aged men to address male violence, particularly sexual and dating violence against women, based out of Pathways for Change, Inc, of Worcester.

“The role of MAC is to raise awareness of the myths about masculinity and play a part in building and expanding young males’ understanding of healthy, non-violent masculinity,” said Kim Dawkins, CEO at Pathways for Change. “These funds will provide critical resources needed to continue our work to engage young males and train them to be leaders in our effort to end sexual violence in North Central Massachusetts.”'