Many Boys and Men Are in Trouble. We Have Programs Proven to Help.
By Esta Soler and Brian O’Connor
October 8, 2025
The headlines are inescapable. Whether they key off a new study, an incident of deadly violence, or something else, they tell the same story: Too many young men are in trouble, isolated, floundering, and at risk. From academic achievement to mental health to workforce participation to relationships, many boys and men are struggling without the positive role models, community, and supports they need. But there are solutions, and our longtime work here at FUTURES can help point the way.
Decades ago, we began reaching out to men and boys with positive messages about healthy relationships. We knew it was the only way to make lasting progress, and we wanted to invite, rather than indict – to ask boys and men to be part of the solution to the seemingly-intractable problem of violence. When we did, they responded! In the years since, we’ve worked in multiple realms, learning some vitally important lessons as we created and honed programs that boost connectedness and instill positive values.
Sports
It started with our much-heralded Coaching Boys Into Men program, which trains high school coaches to teach young male athletes healthy relationship skills and that violence never equals strength. We’ve engaged thousands of schools, community groups, teams, and others in improving attitudes and supporting young men in learning to create healthy, respectful relationships. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funded a rigorous three-year evaluation that found those in the program were significantly more likely to intervene when witnessing abusive or disrespectful behaviors.
Mental Health
As the pandemic exacerbated our country’s youth mental health crisis, we launched Team: Changing Minds with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, supported by Harry’s Inc. It engages the trusted peers and adults in young men’s lives who are active in pastimes they love (video games, mentoring, and sports) to identify signs of mental health challenges and provide help. We’ve already equipped more than 81,000 adults with this knowledge, and they are on track to reach 1.2 million youth by the end of next year.
Life Online
Last year, FUTURES and Equimundo commissioned a deep dive into the lives of young men online, partnering with Puddle for an analysis of more than 40 hours of Twitch streaming, 1.5 million lines of chat logs, and nearly 37,000 lines of Discord chat logs. The research included interviews with moderators, streamers, and experts on young men’s lives; a context mapping of male-majority spaces; and more than 100 hours of observation of online male-majority spaces. The findings affirm a complex online universe – much of it monetized, weaponized, and harmful – but also that young men are seeking information, connection, and community. That points the way to affirming young men’s need for social connections and pathways that bridge their online and offline lives. This research is guiding us as we launch LinkUp Lab, an innovation hub for young men online.
Campus Organizing
We’ve learned a lot through these programs and our new CATAPULT: Campus Action for Healthy Manhood initiative, which is supporting student-centered campaigns that challenge harmful norms and create safer, more welcoming environments on college campuses. Our goal? To help students cultivate healthier versions of manhood.
What We Learned
All of FUTURES’ programs are research-based, and subject to ongoing evaluation, like the aforementioned CDC evaluation and our work with Puddle. The research and experiences offer valuable lessons.
Here are six key lessons to keep in mind:
- Progress starts with meeting young men where they are, not where we want them to be. Sports and gaming play outsized roles in men’s lives. Tapping into that is a powerful way to create opportunities to change attitudes and, over time, behaviors and social norms.
- Inviting, not indicting is the best way forward. Most men abhor the violence that is undermining families and communities, and welcome ways they can help stop it. When we point the way to a better future without finger-pointing, anger, or accusations, many men and boys respond.
- Conventional wisdom and stereotypes can impede progress. We need to understand the online world and when we delve deeply, we see that – yes, it causes real harms – but it also can educate and provide opportunities for constructive engagement. We can create more of that.
- It’s up to us to bolster systems that aren’t working. Right now, our mental health system cannot begin to keep up with the need, and the deep cuts to Medicaid are sure to make that even worse. That’s why we’ve been finding ways to equip the people present in the lives of boys and men’s, who they trust, to help before mental health problems become crises.
- Boys and young men have agency. We succeed when we empower them to identify and implement their own solutions and help them find the resources to scale the ones that show promise.
- Lasting change requires long-term strategies. Who a young man once was may not be who he is today. We won’t reverse isolation and improve mental health overnight. We need to invest in solutions and then refine and sustain them over time.
We have a lot still to learn, for sure, but there are tried-and-true ways to improve social relationships and mental health outcomes, reduce violence, and make our society safer. Let’s use them, build on them, and help our boys and men – and our society … together.
