It has been a real pleasure to work with MATCH (Men and Their Children) in St Helens to produce a booklet to support other new dads and carers. Meeting every two weeks at Family Hubs in St Helens we have created art, talked and shared the ups and downs of being a new dad. Making something and having a drop-in activity for the kids was a great structure to allow space and time to share and a part of my practice I will continue to develop. Dads talked about their uncertainty, health worries and concerns about children and partners, and the conflict of wanting to help raise their kids while also working to provide for them. I was really bowled over by the welcome I received and how willing these men were to talk about how they were feeling; good and bad. I never felt that support was there when I was a new dad and it’s really encouraging that these spaces exists and that the men there want to do something to help others; there is hope and positivity there and evidence of people building the communities of support they need around them and welcoming all in. They have produced a helpful and tangible guide for other dads (which will be distributed at schools, hospitals, doctors surgeries and beyond) which might just provide a link for someone struggling to a community who are ready, willing and able to pitch in and support each other. The staff at the Family hubs are fantastic and made us all feel at home and the whole project was made possible by Wonderarts (especailly Emma wh worked with me on every sessions and was a constant source of support and excelletn chat and Danny who did such a great job creating the booklet) supported by the National Lottery Community Fund

If you are interested in starting a group like this, and cleary these is a need for this, or need someone to lead sessions with an existing group, shout out…this dad is ready to help.