Cherie Heale, Brunswick Heads.
I for one would like to hear from the boys! Its ok for us all to make copious comments about what you think, why you think it, and who you blame for it? Maybe you don’t even care but I wonder if you find it a bit offensive that it is suggested that your mothers are all neglectful and couldn’t possibly be a positive role models? To suggest that all single mothers are neglectful is seriously offensive to me. I too have a 15-year-old son and I am pretty sure, if anyone asked him, he would say I was one.
Maybe you boys are heading nowhere because there is nowhere to head? I am pretty sure you lost boys definitely do have a Peter Pan of your own that you admire and look up to, whether positive or negative, but there is the chance that they may not have your best interests at heart.
I am not sure if suggesting a program like Pathways to Manhood that requires a father figure or mentor is a solution when the article suggests this is exactly the problem, where will you so called fatherless, mentorless boys find one of these? Maybe ‘Hemsy’ could do it, but we better check with you first if you like him!
How do you feel about a statement that says all you can hope for is to be ‘dead, drug addled and in jail?’ Are you bored? What would you like to see happen in your ‘territory’? To put it bluntly is there anything we can do for you?
Speak up boys! You have a had a voice ever since you were born, a loud one that we were forced to listen to, you should use it, even if it is just to stick up for your mums… I will be listening.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
