Even after nearly three years of monthly meetings, they can still feel fresh and new. There is still space for the group to step back and start over with introductions, back stories, and new connections.

The meetings are still a space where men who have never been are made to feel welcome, made to feel like one of the group, and made to feel comfortable enough to share their doubts and concerns.

On a muggy evening near the end of April and as the sun was beginning to set outside, more than a dozen men gathered at Serenity Entertainment Complex for the monthly Men’s Mental Health Meet-up, hosted by the Macon Violence Prevention Program and Macon Mental Health Matters. Unique about this evening was most of the men in attendance were there for only the first or second time.

One man had only lived in Macon for a few months, and after introducing himself and giving told the guys he had been looking for a group like this for several weeks. Without the words actually being said to change the direction, the guys who had been coming for months and years switched their focus to the new guys, asking them specific questions and sharing stories specifically in response to what they were saying.

“We deal with heavy things all the time,” they are told.

“Get it out there; get it off your chest,” another is encouraged as he’s reminding that not dealing with past experiences and issues can cause harm in the long run. “You don’t realize what it’s doing to you.”

The meet-ups help, though, the new guys are told. They talk about how the venue and the group has given the guys an outlet for the struggles and their feelings…a way to let it all out in a safe space where it can’t impact relationships with people who may not know what’s going on.“When we bottle this kind of stuff up, we lash out,” one says, encouraging the new guys to come back. The rest of the world may not care about the reason for the outburst, just that it happened, but in this group, they’ve found guys willing to listen and share their experiences.

One young man, only 24 years old, talks about the concerns he has with advancing his career, gaining financial stability, finding solid friends, working to help youth in the community, and more. The overwhelming advice for him from the veterans of the group: you are not alone and everyone in the room went through the same thing. But that’s okay…it’s how they all learned to deal with it.

“You’ve got to go through some stuff in order to know how to deal with stuff.”

Even with him having concerns, they all congratulated him on being there that evening, and for recognizing early in life that he could reach out for assistance.

“This is what this group is about: welcoming men wherever they are in life and finding a way to help them through their challenges,” says MVP Coordinator Jeremy Grissom. “No matter what you’re facing, what your career, what your age…we’re here for you.”

The Meet-ups happen on the fourth Monday of the month at Serenity Entertainment Complex (427 Poplar Street) from 6:30-8:00 p.m. The meetups are open to the public and are hosted by the Macon Violence Prevention and Macon Mental Health Matters programs. Discussions are facilitated by Stacey Phillips with Clasped Hands Counseling, LLC.