MENSLINK’S single biggest demand for assistance comes from single mothers seeking help for their sons.

It’s perhaps a happy coincidence then that the organisation’s newly appointed general manager Penny Burns is a single mother of teenage boys.

“I don’t have the lived experience that the guys in our counselling, mentoring and education teams have, but being a mum of two teenage boys means I can relate to the mothers of the young guys that we are looking after,” Ms Burns said.

Ms Burns, 48, joined Menslink in September upon returning to Australia after 15 years living and working in Papua New Guinea.  

As general manager, Ms Burns will oversee the running of the not-for-profit organisation.

“I’m not here to fix anything because what Menslink does works, it’s a fantastic organisation,” Ms Burns said.

“I’ll be looking at what we are delivering and bringing fresh eyes to those processes. To land a role like this one is a huge privilege.”

For almost two decades, Menslink has offered support for young Canberra men through volunteer counselling, school and workplace programs, and mentoring services in which an older man listens to and helps support a younger one.

“We want to help as many young guys as we can and support them through their challenges because the rates of suicide in adolescent and adult men is quite high,” said Ms Burns.

“We don’t want young guys slipping through the cracks, we have to make sure they have people to reach out to.”

With experience working in both the public and private sector, Ms Burns is well prepared for the role.

“I’ve come from a roll-your-sleeves-up kind of background,” Ms Burns said.

“I have a hands-on management style and I’ve learnt a lot about the value of the phrase ‘it takes a village to raise a child’.”

Growing up in Melbourne, Ms Burns was exposed to a strong work ethic through her family’s newsagency business, before carving out a career in the corporate sector, which included stints working for Exxon, Sara Lee and Johnson and Johnson.

But it was her time working in Papua New Guinea, in various jobs, that gave her a different perspective about nurturing and preparing young men for adult life.

“If you look at indigenous cultures, the tradition has been that young men are embraced by older men, they often have their own initiation ceremonies and activities that the older and younger men do,” Ms Burns said.

“In Papua New Guinea there’s men’s houses where men sleep separately from the women, so historically these societies have looked after their men and supported them in their challenges.”

Although having only recently settled into the role, Ms Burns has already learned of the many success stories Menslink programs enjoy.

“In the mentoring program, I’ve seen young mentees who are nervous and anxious at the start and when they get matched with a mentor that’s a really good fit they bounce out of their sessions,” she said.

“As a mother of young boys, seeing those kids connecting and chatting with their mentor is just beautiful. For me life is about people and connections and that’s what Menlink is all about.”

Menslink CEO Martin Fisk said Ms Burns is a welcome addition to the organisation.

“The most typical request for help we have is single mothers reaching out saying they need help for their son,” Mr Fisk said.

“So, we help the son but in doing so we are helping the whole family and Penny gets that.”

Ms Burns’ arrival at Menslink coincides with a spike in demand for services following the easing of covid restrictions, Mr Fisk said.

“What we noticed last year and certainly this year was coming out of lockdown was when the young men and their families needed us the most,” said Mr Fisk.

“In November this year we had a record in the number of help requests, which beat our record in August last year coming out of lockdown.”

Mr Fisk said funding security remains one of the greatest challenges facing Menslink’s capacity to meet demand for its services.

“Funding can be volatile, and there are uncertain times ahead,” Mr Fisk said.

“But the work we do and the need for the work we do is not uncertain at all.”