Healthy Masculinity

The Healthy Intergenerational Masculinity (HIM) Initiative is a locally developed initiative designed to cultivate healthier expressions of masculinity, promote school and community-based interventions, and increase men’s engagement in accountability work and gender justice. Rooted in a cross-sector, community-driven approach, the HIM Initiative is implemented by Boys to Men Tucson (BTMT), Emerge Center Against Domestic Abuse, and Goodwill Industries of Southern Arizona.

This initiative serves as a new pathway for intergenerational mentorship and accountability work, with ambitions to:

Support and scale mentorship programs for masculine-identified youth, prioritizing historically oppressed communities, particularly Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), to ensure they have access to guidance, resources, and opportunities for personal and collective growth.
Challenge and transform harmful systemic policies that disproportionately impact masculine-identified BIPOC youth, particularly within educational and juvenile justice systems. This includes partnering with schools to pilot restorative justice practices as an alternative to punitive measures that contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline.
Radically increase the number of men committed to healthy masculinity work, ensuring that more men are equipped, supported, and engaged in mentoring, advocacy, and community leadership. This includes removing financial and systemic barriers that prevent men, particularly BIPOC men, from participating in this work.
Deliver community-wide healthy masculinity trainings and workshops, fostering systems change, restorative action, and greater awareness of the intersection between gender, race, and social justice.

The HIM Initiative is always seeking new partnerships with organizations, institutions, and community leaders committed to violence prevention, mental health equity, and systemic transformation. If you or your organization are interested in collaborating, we invite you to join us in building a future where masculinity is expressed in ways that heal, restore, and empower.