The Purpose
Project CIC
Supporting young men at a crucial stage of their development
The Purpose Project is an 8-week programme delivered within schools and youth organisations to support young men at a crucial stage of their development.
Providing Support, Guidance,
Positive Role Models
Young men deserve the chance to be guided on the difficult journey into adulthood and what it means to be a man. This programme isn’t about punishing boys for the mistakes they may or may not have made. Instead, it provides a supportive, psychologically informed, and trauma-aware space where they learn:
How to recognise and regulate emotions
How to communicate clearly and respectfully
How to take ownership of choices and behaviour
How to form healthy boundaries
How to build confidence and direction
How to challenge unhelpful or harmful online narratives
How to understand and embody positive, modern masculinity
How male role models influence their development and values
%
of young men said they feel societal pressure to ‘be tough’ and suppress their emotions.
%
of Young Boys Say The Don't Know What Being a Man Means
%
of Young Men Suffer With Poor Mental Health
%
16-18 year olds who drop out of education or training
Our support is available within schools and youth organisations
Schools and organisations value The Purpose Project because it strengthens emotional wellbeing, reduces disruptive behaviour, and gives young men the tools they often lack but urgently need. It is designed to complement existing pastoral care, safeguarding frameworks, and PSHE curriculum aims.
Above all, The Purpose Project helps young men become more grounded, capable, and purpose-driven—setting them up to navigate life with confidence, resilience, and clarity. It gives them the support, structure, and guidance that many are missing, in a format that speaks directly to their reality.
What We Teach
Confidence & Resilience
We try to instil core values that promote confidence and resilience to young men through positive reinforcement.
Discipline & Self Control
Demostrate how the traits of dscipline and self control can be greatly beneficial to their lives and those around them,
Role Models
Discussing who are postive male influences and what it means to be a “man” in 2025
Emotional Wellbeing
Communication
We teach how to communicate clearly and respectfully to others around you.
Accountability
Ensuring we teach key lessons in how to take ownership of your decisions and actions.
Online Wellbeing
We teach how to look out for mistruths or hamful content / content creators online.
Relationships
The benefits of nurturing and maintaining positive relationships in life whether it be with friends, teachers, or family members.
Personal Growth
Our sessions are tailored to assist with personal growth through engaging discussions and reflective exercises.
Why We Do What We Do
The Purpose Project was created to address a growing need we see in schools, families, and communities: young men are struggling without the guidance, support, and positive male influences that previous generations often took for granted. As a team, we understand this personally. When I was younger, I felt a real absence of guidance and mentorship around becoming a good man. The Purpose Project is built from that lived experience — and from wanting to offer today’s boys what so many of us wish we had.
Across the UK, the data is clear. Mental health challenges among young people continue to rise, with national figures showing significant increases in anxiety, depression, and emotional distress in boys and young men (NHS Digital, 2023). Alongside this, many boys are growing up without consistent male role models, mentors, or trusted adults to guide them through adolescence. The Lost Boys report highlights how widespread this issue has become (Centre for Social Justice, 2023).
On top of that, masculinity has become a point of confusion for many young men. 43% of boys today say they don’t know what being a man even means (Newsweek, 2024). This uncertainty leaves them vulnerable to harmful online messages, unrealistic expectations, and role models who may not have their best interests at heart.
Yet research tells us something important: positive masculine traits — such as responsibility, discipline, emotional control, purpose, and leadership — are actually linked to better mental wellbeing. Studies by John Barry show that grounding young men in healthy, constructive masculinity supports resilience and reduces depression (Barry, 2022).
1-to-1 Mentoring & Therapeutic Support for Young Men
Alongside our group work, we offer a dedicated 1-to-1 intervention for young men who need deeper, more personal guidance. This isn’t generic mentoring — it’s grounded, relational work delivered by a trained therapist who understands the emotional world young men move through but rarely speak about.
The relationship is the heart of the work.
Through trust, empathy and consistency, sessions create a space where young men can be honest without fear of judgment. For many boys, it’s the first time they feel genuinely understood by another man.
The focus is male-centred.
We explore the pressures, expectations and internal battles that come with being a young man today — identity, anger, purpose, fatherlessness, boundaries, emotional expression, responsibility, relationships, confidence and everything that sits underneath the surface.
This intervention gives young men:
- a safe space to talk openly
- emotional tools they were never taught
- a consistent male role model
- support that recognises their unique struggles
- guidance that helps them grow into themselves
It’s therapy delivered in a way young men can actually engage with — honest, practical, grounded and built around the realities they’re facing.
men deserve guidance — not lectures. Support
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Purpose Project?
The Purpose Project is an 8-week group programme delivered in schools and youth organisations across Liverpool to support young men aged 16–18. It combines psychotherapy and coaching to help participants build confidence, emotional awareness, and a healthy, grounded understanding of modern masculinity.
Who is the programme for?
It is designed for any young man who would benefit from extra guidance and support—whether he is struggling with behaviour, confidence, emotions, relationships, direction, or simply wants to grow into a responsible and resilient adult. Schools often refer boys who are at risk of exclusion, showing signs of emotional distress, or who lack positive male role models.
How does your course tackle misogyny?
Our programme approaches masculinity as a preventative tool against misogyny and VAWG.
By working directly with young men at a formative age, we create space for them to question the pressures, stereotypes and learned behaviours that often sit underneath harmful attitudes. When boys have no framework for healthy masculinity, they can drift toward anger, detachment or online spaces that glorify dominance, entitlement and misogyny.
Our course gives them the opposite:
- language to understand their emotions,
- positive male role-modelling,
- How to develop healthy relationships
- accountability, responsibility and respect,
- and a clearer sense of what healthy masculinity actually looks like.
When young men feel seen, understood and guided, they’re far less likely to seek belonging in harmful ideologies. Strength, empathy and responsibility can coexist — and when boys learn this early, it reduces the likelihood of future behaviours that contribute to violence against women and girls.
In this way, our programme doesn’t just react to VAWG.
It prevents it — by building healthier men before harmful beliefs take root.
What topics are covered in the 8 weeks?
We explore topics such as:
Identity
Confidence
Responsibility
Emotional Regulation
Relationships & Respect
Discipline & Self-Control
Positive Male Role Models & Influences
Purpose & Direction
How is the programme delivered?
Sessions are 60–90 minutes long and run once a week for 8 weeks. They include guided discussions, practical activities, reflective exercises, and short bits of teaching. Everything is interactive—there are no lectures or PowerPoint-heavy lessons and are facilitated by trained, DBS-checked male practitioners.
Do participants have to talk about personal or traumatic experiences?
No one is forced to share anything they don’t want to. The programme creates a safe, non-judgemental environment where honesty is encouraged. Many boys start quiet and gradually open up when they feel ready.
What if a boy has experienced fatherlessness or absence of male role models?
This is addressed as part of the course. We help young men reflect on the male influences (or lack of influences) in their lives—whether fathers, step-dads, teachers, coaches, older brothers, or online figures—and focus on the qualities of healthy masculinity they can still choose to emulate, regardless of their background.
Is the programme religious or politically biased?
No. The Purpose Project is secular and politically neutral. We focus on universal principles of responsibility, respect, emotional health, and personal growth that benefit everyone.
What results do schools and participants typically see?
Common feedback includes:
– Improved emotional regulation and fewer behavioural incidents
– Greater confidence and engagement in school
– Better relationships with peers and staff
– Increased sense of direction and purpose
– Positive feedback from parents/carers about changes at home
Many schools report that participants become calmer, more mature, and more willing to ask for help when needed.
Who runs the sessions?
All facilitators are experienced male youth workers or therapists who have been carefully selected and trained in the Purpose Project model. They bring both professional expertise and lived understanding of the challenges young men face.
Is there a cost?
As a community interest company (CIC), we keep fees as low as possible and offer bursaries/subsidised places for schools with limited budgets. Full pricing is discussed during the initial consultation.
Where do you currently deliver your course?
We are based in Waterloo, Liverpool, and primarily serve Merseyside and the Liverpool City Region, but we are expanding and can deliver further afield when funding and logistics allow.