By Claire Matthews
A new initiative by Relationships Australia Victoria will provide resources, information and support for fathers and families.
Launched during Men’s Health Week, the Support for Fathers project includes social media and relevant, engaging, and valuable content. The content will be conveniently located in one place, on the ‘DadStuff’ social media wall.
Dom Alford, Support for Fathers Project Coordinator, said the project aims to connect fathers more easily with the information they need.
“We’ve developed the DadStuff wall to share with dads all the great resources out there on social media. We’re taking out the ‘middle man’ so that dads can look at all the content that’s available and relevant to them without having to sign up for or login to different social media accounts. We’ve also sifted through all the ads and other stuff to keep it focused on dads.”
Support for Fathers is also developing new resources for fathers and families, focused on the first 1000 days of being a dad, from finding out you’re going to be a father to your child’s second birthday.
This suite of resources will include a new, tailored Professionals’ Toolkit for health providers, hospitals, maternal child health and early years services.
These resources will be available in late-2021 and are designed to help dads to be more:
- pro-active in preparing for birth, giving birth, recovery from birth and the first two years
- involved in pregnancy, birth and the early years of their child’s life
- engaged in health services in the first 1000 days
- confident, informed and capable of being a partner and dad
- likely to develop support networks around them and reach out for help when they need it
Dr Andrew Bickerdike, Chief Executive Officer at Relationships Australia Victoria (RAV), said the project helps inform fathers and build healthy relationships.
“We are proud to support dads and father figures through the Support for Fathers project by providing information and choices to help them build healthy relationships and empowering them, at any stage of life, to be the best fathers they can be.”
The website and resources can be viewed here: http://www.supportforfathers.com.au/.