The Men's Service of the Baix Empordà Regional Council started at the beginning of 2024 and already serves more young people, although the majority profile remains that of men between 36 and 50 years old.
The paradox is that those who come do so to ask for help and, at the same time, arrive after years of silence. Ivan Garcia, a social educator for the service, summarizes it with a phrase that describes that turn: "They are men who say 'I can't go on living like this' and decide to open up and work on it."
The service was born because the figures for assisting women victims were not decreasing
The implementation of the resource responded to the finding that the figures for assisting women victims were not decreasing. Professionals from Mossos d'Esquadra, healthcare, and social services then agreed on the need to also intervene with men.
The program combines a therapeutic line, oriented towards deep personal processes, and a socio-educational line, focused on tools to improve relationships and daily well-being.
"They are men who say 'I can't go on living like this' and decide to open up and work on it" - Ivan Garcia, social educator at the Men's Service of the Baix Empordà Regional Council
Garcia places part of the problem in the difficulty of expressing discomfort. In the 40 or 50-year-old generation, he says, the habit of remaining silent and raising emotional barriers that end up causing harm still weighs heavily.
During adolescence, he adds, intervening becomes more difficult due to peer pressure, but when the work comes earlier, the changes are faster and there are more guarantees of success.
Albert Ramírez, a user of the service, arrived after a long process alone and with the search for support still open.
"I did a lot of work alone, but I was desperately looking for support" - Albert Ramírez, user of the Servei d'Homes of the Consell Comarcal del Baix Empordà
Ramírez has also explained that professional attention helps him to unlock aspects that on his own he would never have come to understand. His testimony fits the type of demands that reach the service, many times linked to couple conflicts, separations or difficulties in parenting.
Upbringing and consumption appear in several cases attended
The cases attended also include chronic ailments and, on occasion, substance use. In some files, episodes of verbal and physical violence appear.
Mercè Pereira, coordinator of the service and psychologist, has underlined that many men do not feel called upon to ask for support and that they may also need it without feeling ashamed.
"Men often do not feel called upon to ask for support. We must understand that they may need it and that they should not be ashamed" - Mercè Pereira, coordinator of the Men's Service of the Consell Comarcal del Baix Empordà
The balance of the first two years of operation is, according to Pereira, very positive and with more cases than expected. The service coordination detects above all demands linked to parenting and the desire to improve the relationship with children.
Pereira has closed the assessment with the idea that the resource allows for addressing needs that until now were left out, because there are also sufferings and aspects of these men's lives that do not function.
With this service, he/she affirms, they can help them have a better life.