Dads in Distress, a not-for-profit charity focused on supporting dads experiencing trauma related to family breakdown and separation, will start weekly meetings in Tamworth from June 6 onward.
Speaking to the New England Times, Philip Penfold, the project manager for the Hunter, New England and Central Coast regions, said the meetings are 100% free confidential support for dads who are going through or have gone through a separation, in particular, from their kids.
The meetings provide a format for dads who are in distress to meet and get help. Philip says that the effect on attendees can be profound when they realise they are not alone in their grief.
“It can be challenging for dads to sit there and talk about their difficulties, but what they need to know is many of the dads who come to the meetings are glad in the end because they discover they are not alone in dealing with these issues,” he said.
“They find out that what they are going through is often shared across the board; I have heard more than one dad say, ‘I thought I was on my own; I didn’t realise there were so many of you also going through this’.”
According to Philip, the team at Dads in Distress are also dads who’ve been through separations themselves and can provide useful pointers that make it more manageable.
“Everyone obviously has different difficulties and stories. What we find is having the chance to share with other dads who understand what you are going through, hearing about how they dealt with their own difficulties, and then sharing experiences can have a huge impact,” he said.
“We know 80% of all suicides are men. Family breakdown is often a cause for suicide, and we want to be there to catch any dads who are going through this, help them during this dark hour, and support them to get through their difficulties in a healthy positive way.”
Dads in Distress will have weekly meetings starting June 6. Then continue every Thursday from 6pm to 8pm at TFSS, the Tamworth Family Support Service Centre on Gunnedah Rd in West Tamworth.
One week prior, on May 30, the charity will be welcomed to the region with a launch event at the Tamworth Hotel from 5:30pm to 7pm Philip says tickets are free and can be found on Eventbrite. While an event page with further details can be found on Facebook here.
“We urge anyone who is an ally provider in this field that could maybe provide other support services in the Tamworth region to come along and talk with us,” Philip said.
“Dads who are currently going through their own difficulties, or maybe come out the other side and want to give back by helping other dads, can come along as well and hear more about what we do,” he added.
Officially started on Father’s Day 1999, Dads in Distress founder Tony Miller OAM had a group that met periodically on a veranda in Coffs Harbour because he could not find any support while going through a separation.
The initiative has since grown to be Australia wide and also includes Mums in Distress.For more information on Dads in Distress, Mums in Distress or the wider ParentsBeyondBreakup charity, head over to their website.
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