Vincent Sherrell was 16 when he walked into the library at his high school and heard something different.

Not your typical assembly but a conversation, about manhood, responsibility and mental health.

He didn’t know then that signing up for the Building Young Men program would change the way he moved through the world.

Each Wednesday, in place of school sport, he joined a group of boys and mentors in a quiet circle. They talked and listened, and week by week, trust replaced hesitation.

“One of the biggest takeaways was connection,” says Vincent, now 17. “How a group of people can build each other up.”

They walked for 24 hours. At first it felt impossible. But they finished it, together. And that’s the point of the program: not to test boys, but to show them who they are when things get hard.

At the centre of it all were the mentors. Some in their 20s, others much older.

“They shared their mistakes,” Vincent says. “They showed us how to treat people. What to avoid. What matters.”

This is not a story about saving boys. It’s about giving them space to grow. It’s about recognising that in an age of constant pressure, especially online, belonging can’t be assumed. It has to be built.

Vincent has built new friendships, confidence and a sense of purpose that extends beyond school. He’s studying hospitality, finishing his work placement hours at a local café, and imagining a career in outdoor recreation, shaped, in part, by the wilderness camp he attended through the program.

“Wednesdays became the highlight of my week.”

In the quiet circle, boys speak truths they might never say elsewhere. What they find is not judgment, but a kind of steady, unspoken respect.

That, more than anything, is what helps them stand up straighter.

Young men today face a lot of pressure to be everything at once, be strong but sensitive, be confident but humble, be successful but relaxed, be resilient but emotionally open. Society often sends conflicting messages about what it means to be a man.

Instead of always having to live up to those pressures or expectations, what young men often need most is a place where they don’t have to perform or prove anything , where they can just be themselves, be accepted, and feel safe.

Each year Gerringong Golf Club hosts the Sam Matters Cup in honour of the talented local footballer and golfer who took his own life five years ago.

The Sam Matters Cup will be held on September 12. Call Gerringong Golf Club Pro Shop on 4234 3333 to book.

All money raised will go to The Saving Sammy Foundation which will again fund the mental health mentoring program, now in its fourth year, to support Year 10 students at Kiama High School during a critical stage of their development.

Anyone seeking support can phone Lifeline to speak to a Crisis Supporter on 13 11 14, text 0477 131 114, or chat online at www.lifeline.org.au (all services are available 24/7).