Welcome to

Connect Project

Supporting boys becoming men.

A 5-week program designed for 10 young men aged 14 to 16.

In this program, you’ll learn how to:

Communicate effectively
Defend yourself physically

You will practice 2 foundational life skills:

Interpersonal Communication

Martial Arts & Self-Defence

Why?

Together, these skills & practices can strengthen your body and mind,
as well as your ability to communicate & connect with others.

Connect with others, yourself, and your body.

Get in touch

Leroy Wiseman (right) – Principal Facilitator of Connect Project

Interpersonal Communication

What
The Tuesday nights are essentially an experiential introduction to:

Open, honest, meaningful and safe communication with a group of young men.
Learning how to create open, honest, meaningful and safe communication for yourself
and others.

For practical purposes, we frame this under teaching the boys how to be part of a functioning ‘Men’s Circle’. Essentially, a ‘Men’s Circle’ is just a useful framework that integrates interpersonal skills such as (emotional literacy, self-reflection, self-awareness, interpersonal sharing, non-judgemental active listening, reflecting on others’ experiences, etc).

How
We will gradually teach the boys requisite skills, such as creating group safety, ‘checking-in’, sharing, and ‘holding space’ for others. This is done through an experiential process of self-reflection, pair-work, group activities, and workshops, and culminates in participating in a functioning ‘Men’s Circle’.

Why

Encourage boys to develop a more healthy and holistic way of relating and communicating as young men.
Encourage boys to develop a more healthy and holistic understanding of themselves as young men.

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Informed by five years of experience working with groups and individuals, Leroy is an experienced mental health group facilitator and provisional psychotherapist. He has substantial experience working with youth, having co-created the suicide prevention peer support program ‘Open Up’ in 2017 alongside Northern Beaches-based charity One Eighty Inc.

Leroy has diverse experience creating and delivering adult and adolescent learning in the mental health and wellness industry. This includes contributing to and delivering trainings, workshops, courses and programs on communication, relationships, group facilitation, peer support, mental health, mindfulness, meditation, men’s mental health, and other topics.

Mentoring

Leroy’s mission as a mentor is to teach young people how to communicate and connect with others authentically.

In my experience, there is tremendous power and healing available in engaging with others this way; Put simply, it feels good to be deeply understood, and to deeply understand others.

What do I mean by ‘authentically’?

It seems to me, that authenticity with others (i.e. being ourselves), requires a level of vulnerability (i.e. unmasking ourselves).

That is, in order to feel really understood by others, we first need to be able to connect with and share what we really think and feel with them.

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If that sounds scary, or uncomfortable, I get it.

Our culture has taught young men to do the opposite – to be silent, push things down, and present a ‘social mask’ to the world. And how is that going for us? The shocking statistics on men’s mental health speak for themselves.

I want to acknowledge the fear or discomfort you may feel around vulnerability, as both normal and understandable, given the social and cultural pressures on us as young men. I also want to share how incredibly liberating it can be to experience authenticity (both our own, and other people’s) in the right context.

This is why I advocate the formula: Vulnerability + Safety = Healing.

For this to be healing, it needs to be safe; and a safe, judgement-free container for authentic communication is what I’m here to provide, and teach you to create.

Connect project is an opportunity to learn how to step in, unmask ourselves, and connect authentically with other young men, through sharing our common human experiences.

I have dedicated myself to this work since 2017, after losing two young friends to suicide.

I am personally invested in serving young people in my community, and that is why I am offering this opportunity.

– Leroy

_{Gracie Humaita Mona Vale (Saturday Location)}

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for Self-Defence

Learning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) can provide holistic benefits to a person’s physical, mental and social life.

It combines having a lot of fun, with a great workout, social connection, and teaches you an important skill set for life.

That skill set involves learning how to realistically defend yourself in a physical altercation, against someone larger or stronger than you.

BJJ can feel like magic because it doesn’t rely on strength, but by utilising technique, momentum, leverage, and the maximally efficient use of energy, to physically subdue, control and ‘submit’ an aggressor if necessary.

As BJJ practitioners, we are taught to avoid physical confrontations – to walk away from fights. But what if someone grabs you?

As a BJJ practitioner, you will learn how to confidently break someone’s grip, control them, throw them to the ground, and if necessary – ‘submit’ them via a joint lock or stranglehold.

Physically, BJJ will improve your strength, flexibility, and endurance. Likewise, when you are physically stronger you feel mentally stronger.

Mentally, the discipline and humility required to practice and spar BJJ can promote self-confidence and mental toughness. It’s a great way to release stress, anxiety, or aggression, in a healthy controlled way.

But more than that, it’s a lot of fun.

As a group of young men, there’s nothing more fun than battling your friends each week, and helping each other improve under a team culture of camaraderie, mutual respect, and teamwork.

BJJ is commonly perceived by proponents as offering “a strong philosophy to live by” with the potential for collective, and individual well-being and health (Gracie, 2010).

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Key Program Details

The program runs for 5 consecutive weeks, with the group meeting twice per week (on Tuesday and Saturday) for 90 Minutes.

Location: Mona Vale

Times:
Tuesdays 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm (Group Communication & Mindfulness Meditation)
Saturdays 1:00 – 2:30 pm (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu)

Limited to 10 boys aged 14 to 16.

Investment

For eligible participants we encourage utilising a GP-referral and obtaining a Mental Health Care Plan for 10 subsidised sessions (e.g. If your son has anxiety, depression, or any other mental health issue).

Doing so will bring the out-of-pocket fee down to (approximately) $45.50 per session, $91 per week, and $455 for the 5 weeks (after rebates).

Without a Mental Health Care Plan, the investment is $200 per week, and $1000 for the 5-week experience.

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Course Dates & Availability

April Course

(complete)

Dates: 11th April – 13th May
(Starts first week of school holidays)

May Course

(complete)

Dates: May 30th – July 1st
(During school term)

Join us!

Join a fun and supportive group environment

Gain a set of foundational life skills and practices

Connect with other boys who share similar interests and goals

And learn how to:

Communicate effectively
Defend yourself

So, what are you waiting for?

Sign up fo Connect Project today and connect with your best self!