2022 Year-End Message from CCMF CEO and Founder Justin Trottier
This fall, we’re celebrating ten years of advocacy for boys and men.
So it seemed like a good opportunity to celebrate the progress you've helped us achieve, to lay a vision for the next decade and to renew our joint commitment to the monumental work that remains to be done for boys and men.
Let me start by telling you about some of our accomplishments.
We opened the very first Family Shelter for abused men and children, which has welcomed over 60 families to date! Each month an average of 75 families seek access to our emergency facility; that's many many more than we can accommodate.
We were Lead Sponsor of the groundbreaking 2022 International Conference on Men and Families, which featured delegates from 21 countries.
We intervened in the Supreme Court case R v Langan, arguing before the highest court that male stereotypes lead to wrongful convictions.
We co-produced the 2019 documentary Erasing Family, which led directly to global efforts to reform divorce and family law.
We are interviewed regularly on national radio such as Global News and NewsTalk1010 and we've been featured in the international press, in The New York Times, the Associated Press, The Guardian and others.
We launched the Perspectives on Men Podcast, now on its 18th episode.
We completed a federal government funded research project, entitled "Studying Male Homelessness as a Consequence of Domestic Violence."
We ran three billboard awareness campaigns, focusing on suicide prevention and parental alienation.
And meanwhile, we built and operate first-of-their-kind Canadian Centres for Men and Families in Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Vancouver, York Region and St. Thomas. These Centres offer counselling, support groups, legal clinics, fathering after separation groups, mentorship and coaching for male youth, and programs that help male victims recover from domestic violence.
We have even bigger plans for 2023 and beyond.
Justin Trottier, Founder and CEO, Canadian Centre for Men and Families
We want to build on our momentum and push a National Agenda for Boys and Men. We have a series of initiatives that will target all sectors of society: media, government, corporate, and the general public.
Not only that, but after a full year operating Canada’s first shelter for abused fathers and children, we're making progress laying the groundwork for future family shelters in Alberta and BC!
If that’s not enough, in 2023 we will be taking focused action to address the crisis of false allegations. False allegations are abuse and they have devastating consequences for many men, fathers and their families. Each year, hundreds of men reach out to us with excruciatingly painful stories. Many will never again see their children again because of false allegations of domestic violence, child abuse or sexual assault. These men may lose jobs, end up with a criminal record and face debilitating mental health effects. Tragically, but not surprisingly, some will take their own lives.
Surveys conducted in the US have found that 20 million Americans have been victims of false accusations. At 11% of the population, that is more than twice the number of victims of all other forms of domestic abuse combined. No such survey is conducted in Canada - and we want to change that. We have asked Statistics Canada to add a question on false allegations to their General Social Survey on Victimization. Armed with the results of such surveys, we will have ammunition to demand action by the Attorney General to recognize false allegations as a serious crime and to take action to have it prosecuted fairly and consistently.
In addition to our own achievements and future plans, we’re noticing some encouraging trends on social media, with a growing community of content creators sharing positive messages about men and masculinity, while raising awareness of the challenges boys and men continue to face in their lives.
Here at the Canadian Centre for Men and Families, we want to take full advantage of these encouraging developments within and beyond our agency. That's why we're announcing the 2023 MOMENTUM Fund aimed at finally putting these life and death issues into the spotlight through our National Agenda for Boys and Men.
Up until December 31st, all your donations will be matched, and new monthly gifts will be matched six times over. All contributions receive a tax receipt for income tax purposes.
There is no other organization in Canada like ours. We uncompromisingly champion the cause of men and boys - and we're successful. We've built life-saving programs and we're changing the conversation around men and gender, but we cannot do this without you.
Support our with a charitable gift at https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charit...
Join us to advocate - boldly and effectively - for boys and men. Thank you very much.