Our Story
Under Kevlaret was founded in 2016 by a young man named Mårten. In a short period of time, two of Mårten’s close friends told him that they had been having suicidal thoughts. This came as a shock. Like so many men, despite being very good friends, they never talked about these kinds of things.
But now they did.
This became the foundation that Under Kevlaret was built upon. To lower the threshold for boys and men to express themselves. To make it acceptable. Not with the purpose of “fixing” them, but rather to just make them feel heard.
Why We Exist
We exist to break the silence – to give boys and men a place to talk and a place to listen. Too many boys and men suffer in silence, and this silence is dangerous.
The greatest danger to boys and men aged 15-44 are themselves; 70% of suicides are committed by men.
We want to create a place where they can be free of the burden given by society, and where they can truly experience the power of empathy and connection.
What We Do
Direct support
We run an anonymous support chat that is open every night 20.00 - 22.00. This is a space for men and boys to talk about anything that might be on their mind - whatever it might be. We are here to listen without judgement.
Education
We organize forums where we can spread knowledge about men’s mental health and the art of listening. Through lectures and workshops we can reach out to countless people from all different backgrounds so that more boys and men can feel heard and understood.
Community
We are building a brotherhood on Discord, with spaces for casual conversations, deep talks, and gaming. Through regularly held events and continuous dialogue we are helping men connect, express themselves, and find real support through their peers.
Listening Is A Mindset
Our motto is:
Listen to understand, not just to reply.
And it starts with how you listen to yourself. How well do we even know our own feelings and needs? For many men it is much like starting to learn a new language, so we need to start with the basics.
We believe that real conversations start with being present, so we have developed a framework of sorts that can be used to reflect, pause, and connect with ourselves and others. We call this the FIKA check-in, inspired by the Swedish fika.
We have translated it to PIES. Try it out!
Physical - How does your body feel?
Intellectual - What is on your mind?
Emotional - Which feelings are present?
Spiritual - Any deeper reflections?
This check-in is the cornerstone of what we do as an organization. It allows us to go beyond surface-level talk and explore the real stuff - family, love, stress, gratitude, struggles, and more. Conversations many men seldom get the chance to have.
Our Impact
We have had over 5000 hours of conversation in our support chat
Hundreds of volunteers have been engaged in our organization
More than 15 000 people have heard our lectures and participated in our workshops
We have close to 500 members in our Discord community
Accumulated 16 855 hours/702 days
in voice chat
“I would not live today if it weren’t for our conversation” - a visitor to our support chat
How You Can Help
Most importantly, you can help by supporting your brothers. Listen, and break the silence about men’s mental health.
Spread the word that there are organizations like Under Kevlaret who are engaged in these issues. Through social media and through word of mouth you can help us get a larger outreach and help even more people.
Get involved. Volunteer, collaborate, or support us in any way you can. With your support we can help even more men and boys to open up and break the silence.
You can help us grow by donating via PayPal (or Swish if you are Swedish)