Maccabi Men's Locker Room
Where real men can cry.
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What goes on in the locker room, stays in the locker room.
About the Maccabi Men's Locker Room
The Maccabi Men’s Locker Room is a comfortable space for adult men 18 years and over, and for those that identify as men, to come and talk. This forum will allow you to talk, share, help, laugh and most importantly let your emotions free in a safe and confidential environment.
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You don’t need to be affiliated with any Maccabi group, but instead you will be welcomed into the Maccabi family. This will be a safe and inclusive space for all people, regardless of their backgrounds, beliefs, abilities, identities and/or expressions.
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“I started out with the idea of having a men’s group where men can share their life experiences and thereby help themselves and others just by telling”, said Maccabi FC president Kevin Milstein.
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Kevin goes on by explaining, “I had gone through a family tragedy with mental health illness and then a few weeks later found myself sitting next to an old business colleague in shule (synagogue) during Yom Kippur (Jewish day of atonement). When I got talking to him I realised that even though I knew this man many years ago, I never really knew him. He told me his life stories with sadness in his voice.”
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“I asked him what he was doing with his time”, Kevin goes on. “Nothing he replied, I have too much time on my hands to just think.” Kevin concluded, “at that point I realised that men need a place to talk, be sad and cry if they need to. They need to be around other men to share their experiences, as that is men’s greatest weakness, not sharing with friends.”
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That’s where the men’s locker room idea was born.
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The first few sessions will be very much introductory. We have made up some etiquette rules together that are linked here and/or posted below.
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Over time, we hope to be able to help men explore their own life experiences and be able to impart their knowledge to others, when and if the time is right for them.
We hope to encourage speakers of all backgrounds to join us so that we may be able to learn from them and with them.
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We run these sessions every second Wednesday morning from 9.30 – 11am at the Caulfield Park Bowls Club. There is no fee to join the group.
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The first 5 meetings of the Locker Room have now concluded, but we are continuing to meet according to the wishes of our participants.
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For meeting details please contact the facilitator Kevin on president@mfcc.com.au
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Please join us inside the Caulfield Park Bowls Club located at
280 Balaclava Road Caulfield North 3161
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We look forward to meeting you.
Maccabi Mens Locker Room Etiquette
All mobile phones off. Or at least on silent.
You will all be added to the group Whats App chat, to keep up with events. You can choose to opt out if you wish to. However, the group chat will have information that you might miss out on.
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Confidentiality: everything that is said in the group stays in the group unless risk of harm to self and/or others. If that is the case, then Kevin and/or the moderator may refer you to a support network for further help.
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I, me and my language (where possible, it’s much more personal/powerful to say I felt X, my experience is Y or the feeling for me is Z, instead of saying you know when and making assumptions about others)
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No unsolicited advice giving/fixing/rescuing/saving (instead of telling people what to do, explain our personal experiences and what worked for us. If it resonates with them, great. If it doesn’t, also great!)
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Opt in (freedom to share as little or as much as you like, but we want to invite everyone to contribute)
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Being present and respectful (paying attention to and being present with whoever is speaking as much as possible - including phones off)
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Disclosure (firstly ask yourself: am I comfortable sharing this? If so… How much detail am I willing to share? Then ask yourself: is this appropriate and/or beneficial for the group? For example: disclosing of losing someone to suicide may be appropriate, disclosing the method of how they ended their life can be triggering for other people)
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Self-boundaries (if someone asks you a question, politely decline if you don’t wish to discuss it further). You may choose to talk to that person one on one after the group meeting.
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Emotion is welcome and encouraged (vulnerability and tears are seen as a strength, not a weakness)
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Don’t be afraid to ask someone to leave the room that might be too close to you. Some of us may know each other too closely and you might not feel comfortable talking in front of them. Its cool to ask them to step out for a few minutes. Or you may prefer to take the topic privately after the group meeting.
A buddy system: between meetings you may choose to reach out for help within the group, you are welcome to in the Whats App chat group. However, the people answering will not be qualified counsellors they will be the friends that you have in the group.
They can answer your call for help but only in an empathetic way not in a professional capacity.
Please note that we need to be wary of time and stick to the advertised 90 minutes as some people may have arranged their daily appointments around these sessions.
If you need further help than we can provide call:
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Men’s Line 1300 78 99 78 Lifeline 13 11 14
