About Marcus Mission

Marcus Mission is a social support program that assists men who are navigating life’s challenges. Our aim is to go ‘upstream’ and help men to develop their skills and resilience before their life spirals. This program is all about men supporting men in S.E. Queensland. It has helped over 1250 men since it began 7 years ago.

Marcus Mission can:
– Introduce you to an everyday bloke who is a trained and skilled peer MENtor to offer mateship, support and connection.
– Help you to develop skills to cope with life’s challenges. Attend a Monthly Workshop (and a meal) at no cost.
– Help your mates and community members by becoming a skilled MENtor. This includes attending the 4 core skill development workshops, MENtor Coaching workshop, safety planning & suicide prevention training.

Whether you’re seeking support or interested in building skills and confidence to help your mates and your community, this program could be for you. Its philosophy is to provide a social support program for men who are seeking genuine connection and support from other men in an informal, non-judgmental setting.  The Marcus Mission Program has  transitioned from Wesley Mission Queensland but is continuing to operate on the  Sunshine Coast, Gympie, Ipswich and Bundaberg regions under the guidance of Marcus Mission co-founder, Jon Morgan.

Remembering Marcus

Marcus Roberts grew up in Bundaberg with his loving mum, dad and sister and many friends. He was 23 when he died by suicide in 2014 while battling with depression. Marcus was a creative, caring and compassionate young man who was loved by everyone. He loved photography, music and people. He felt things very deeply and didn’t have a lot of self esteem. So when he had a relationship break-up, lost his job and become socially isolated overseas, this led to debilitating depression. Marcus’ family was determined to change the statistics around men dying by suicide. Marcus Mission was developed to address the social support gap that was missing for Marcus and helps other men, with the same care and kindness that Marcus showed to others.

Through our despair, my wife and I reflected on what we had missed. What would have helped Marcus? With the help of our founding partners, Wesley Mission Qld, our research identified some key considerations:

1. Social Support is a key protective factor when men are struggling and are reluctant to fully engage with clinical care.

2. This support needs be informal, practical, honest and from a place of genuine compassion and non-judgement.

3. It needs to avoid ‘preaching’ but rather empower men and encourage them to pick up the ‘tools’ and do the heavy lifting themselves.

4. Conversations need to be ‘shoulder to shoulder’ and preferably activity based to encourage easy engagement.

5. The Program needs to develop authentic relationships rather than being transactional.

The Program was designed with key elements:

1. Locally run, community-based Programs

2. Informal, engaging, ‘men for men’ workshops around all the socio-situational factors that lead men to suicide ideation and despair. This includes Relationship Break ups, Estrangement from children and custody, Family Conflict, Addiction, Grief & Loss, Mental, Physical and Financial Struggles.

3. Time for Mateship and Connection over coffee and meals before and after workshops

4. Monthly Zoom workshop option outside working hours for rural areas and those men unable to access Face to Face Workshops.

5. Skilled, everyday blokes MENtoring other men by spending time with them weekly or fortnightly. The MENtoring is about giving them space to be heard and clarifying their concerns, needs and goals WITHOUT advising, fixing or rescuing.

6. Linking with other services and complementing, not substituting, for clinical care

7. Mid-month ‘Walk and Talk’ to promote physical wellbeing and connection.

8. Personal calls to each participant to be a sounding board and develop an authentic connection. These calls can last from 3 minutes to 90 minutes depending on the need at the time.

9. Fortnightly supervision of all MENtors

10. Monthly ‘Area Coordinator’ Leadership meetings to debrief and share ideas.

This is not a crisis service. If you or a loved one are in crisis, please call: Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467, or Men’s Line on 1800 041 612.