They’re back - a men’s club
By Michael Picarella
Acorn Staff Writer

MICHAEL COONS/The Acorn Men Supporting Men-Wayne Levin is a counselor who runs the West Coast Men's Center in Agoura Hills.

After years of scrutiny over the fairness of "men only" clubs and the near end to such groups, the West Coast Men’s Center is making the guys-only gathering popular again.

Men are becoming better men because of it, said Wayne Levine, West Coast Men’s Center director.

For over a year, the West Coast Men’s Center in Agoura Hills has provided support group meetings for men between the ages 30 to 60 in the San Fernando and Conejo Valley areas.

According to Levine, most of those who participate in the sessions lack male role models in their lives, or are dealing with problems of divorce, substance abuse, long-term romantic relationships or the need for a romantic relationship.

"I had gotten involved in men’s work over a decade ago," Levine said. "It changed my life. I had no relationships with men. My father died when I was a boy, my mother raised me and she never remarried. I never had a strong male figure in my life. When I was introduced to men’s work in my early 30s, all of a sudden I had realized what I had been missing."

Levine, 42, has been married for almost 20 years and has two children. He loves his family and says they come first, but he also enjoys working with the men. The challenge, he said, is getting more men to come to his center.

"It’s really hard for men to ask for help," Levine said. "And there’s very little in our culture that sort of supports men to ask for help. They think it’s a weakness. As a result of that, the men in our community are isolated."

A lot of men have issues in their life that they have to deal with. But sometimes they don’t have anyone to talk to or sometimes they’re afraid to speak their mind with the assumption that they’ll be judged for being a weak man.

"Guys may have golfing buddies, poker buddies, may be very friendly with other parents on soccer teams and baseball teams, but when it comes down to it, most of them don’t have anyone to talk to when the going gets rough," Levine said.

Experts agree that men deal with problems differently than women do. Women often feel better just talking about their problems, but men usually want to fix what bothers them.

"Men need to do something about it and it’s not easy," Levine said. "So that support that we get from the other guys really helps us to move ahead ... A big part of what the center is about is building a community of men who can count on each other, who can help each other and who can trust each other," Levine said.

"There haven’t been enough efforts to allow men to do things on their own," Levine added. "In fact, most of the efforts in the last 20 or 30 years have actually been in destroying and eliminating those places where men used to gather."

He refers to the organizations, groups and clubs that have suffered in recent years due to gender discrimination and lawsuits.

"Men have always needed the company of other men," Levine went on to say. "Back in the United States over 100 years ago before fathers would have to go off to the city and work, sons were with their dads and their grandfathers and they worked the land and they worked together and there was continuity. There was mentoring going on."

Attendance in the local club has gradually increased. More support groups have been added—Levine said he keeps each group to about eight to 10 men each—and the center’s first weekend retreat will take place Sept. 19 to 21.

Other activities that the center has planned include a fun day for fathers and sons and an upcoming golf tournament that’s still in the planning stages.

West Coast support groups meet weekly for an hour and a half at 5310 Derry Ave., Suite A in Agoura Hills. The cost per session is $45.

For more information, call Levine at (818) 879-1600 or go to the center’s Website online at www.westcoastmenscenter.com.