EDMONTON—Local men howling for a place to talk about more than just shop will soon have a pack of like-minded adults to share thoughts and feelings.

In partnership with Next Gen Men, a non-profit creating spaces for men to discuss gender roles and modern manhood, local anti-violence and peer support group Men Edmonton is bringing the conversation to Edmonton with a monthly dialogue called Wolf Pack.

Already in Calgary and Toronto, Wolf Pack talks aim to create a “brave space,” as opposed to a safe space, for the kind of conversations that men don’t usually have with one another.

German Villegas, a volunteer with Men Edmonton, and organizer of the inaugural Wolf Pack talk in Edmonton, describes the space as one where men can both question traditional conceptions of manhood and have their own beliefs on the subject challenged as well.

“It’s hard to have a safe space and not be challenged,” Villegas said. “Wolf Pack is not only a place where you can get compassion, but also be compassionate and empathetic to other people.”

Part of the goal of the talks is to create a positive coping mechanism for men who might suffer social isolation from failing to live up to traditional ideals of manhood, or feel like they can’t show vulnerability because of those ideals.

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According to a survey conducted by the Alberta Men’s Network, nearly a third of the men who responded said that societal or cultural expectations of being a man would prevent them from accessing supports. In the same survey, 96 per cent of men reported needing support for their own well-being and the well-being of their relationships.

“When a guy loses a job, or can’t provide for a family, obviously that hurts them, and obviously that hurts their identity,” Villegas explained. “We want to challenge some of those notions — those past ideals that you need to be a breadwinner, or you need to be a stoic person.

“When we get stuck in these identities, guys fall into traps like addiction, and suicide.”

Also the host of a podcast called Modern Manhood, Villegas regularly discusses questions of what it means to be a modern man in bi-monthly episodes. Feedback from listeners gave him the idea to take those conversations live and in-person.

“I get a ton of emails from guys wanting to talk about this. They were hungry, hungry, hungry to talk about that specific issue,” he said. “Unfortunately I don’t have time to take everybody out for a drink, so this was my solution: Let’s just all come together, have drinks together, and talk about these things.”

It was on that same podcast that he met Jake Stika, executive director and one of the founders of Next Gen Men. Known for hosting similar talks at schools, Stika started Wolf Pack in Calgary in 2015 after hearing of more demand for similar conversations.

“We chose the idea of the wolf pack because a lot of men do isolate themselves when going through difficult things,” Stika said. “If they do have conversations, it’s kind of water cooler conversations, whether that be politics or sports, but never getting to the meat of anything, never really being vulnerable to sharing something with another guy.”

To bring those lone wolves in from the cold, both Stika and Villegas aim to create a sense of community where not only men, but people of all genders can come together for a grassroots conversation, to develop relationships and supports, and entertain questions of manhood in the modern age.

“We work in a frame that doesn’t vilify women or people of other genders,” Villegas added, a difference he hopes will distinguish Wolf Pack from men’s associations that aren’t as open or tolerant.

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“We notice that a lot of guys want community, but end up in communities that may be toxic or problematic. It’s not about calling people out; it’s about calling people in.”

Although the issues are mainly geared toward men, all adults are welcome to lend diverse perspectives to the conversation at Wolf Pack and, Villegas hopes, walk away with insights that men with traditional conceptions of manhood might otherwise be quick to hide.

“We work better in a pack than by ourselves,” he said.

The first Wolf Pack event is scheduled for July 24, from 7 to 9 p.m., at The Pint in downtown Edmonton.

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