Blueprint for Change: A New Way to Live

When it comes to figuring out how to live in today’s world—especially how to relate with our partners, our family, our friends and co-workers, and with society at large—who do we listen to?

And who do men listen to, in particular?

We have ideas and tools to share—about a new way to live.

It’s a blueprint for change. And it’s time for us to share this blueprint with the world.

How it started

We began our work 10 years ago, with men—particularly men in the military, sport, and public safety. 

Men present as the social group with the biggest mental health risk, including anxiety, depression, interpersonal dysfunction, social disconnection, workplace trauma, and suicide. Since 2015, Blueprint has been helping the men and women of the public safety sector—fire fighters and law enforcement officers—deal with these challenges. 

The lessons and tools used by first responders have helped them address the challenges of work, family, and relationships. Our work has saved lives.

How it’s going

Many men are still disconnected, lonely, and angry. And of all the ways for people to share, most tend to focus on image, opinions, and ideas; not enough focus on relationship-building, real emotional exchange, and healing. 

As we worked to expand our work with first responders in Canada, the scale of this social problem has only grown. Today, it's clear—it’s time for Blueprint to meet the moment. To share lessons and tools that can help people understand who they are, and their capacity for well-being in an uncertain world.

Our blueprint is a message and a set of lessons for boys and men—as sons, fathers, friends, and leaders. Our work is also for everyone else—in workplaces, families, and communities—anywhere and anytime people feel disappointed, disoriented, and disconnected in relation to the world around us. 

It’s a blueprint for a new way to live.

What we want to do

“The lessons and tools aren’t complex, yet they can help the mental health and well-being for so many people. To take off your armour and start talking about this stuff is an act of extraordinary courage, but it isn’t exclusive to first responders. We all have the capacity to demonstrate that same courage. And we must share this work with more people. We can actually help more people.

— David Kuhl, CEO and co-founder of Blueprint

We need your help to build this blueprint for humanity. Working in partnership with the Canadian Men's Health Foundation, we want to meet the moment for men, for Canadians, and for anyone in the world seeking a new way to live.

“We'll give it away. If it makes a difference in one family, if it saves one life, it's worth doing. It's too important for us to not share with the world, this different approach to relating to the world and ourselves, as people struggling to find connection, acceptance and well-being in a hyper-masculine and often brutal world. This is not about selling a product or signing people up to a program-it's about helping people find a new blueprint for living, and that's worth giving away, if we can find the support to do so.

— Duncan Shields, EVP and co-founder of Blueprint

How you can help

Despite efforts to raise money for our research and program delivery through appeals to government, and public and private sector grants, we’ve been unable to secure ‘core’ funds to keep our team of six working on this project for much longer.

One of our supporters recently committed $120,000 to Blueprint, so we can continue to operate through to Canada Day…on the condition that we raise matching funds from our followers and supporters.

We are seeking donations of any amount to help raise another $120,000 so we can continue our work. Please consider making a contribution today.