It was a momentous occasion – Oct 17, 2014 – the first community training offered based on the new My Dad Matters father engagement toolkit. Regent Park has been on our radar for a while now as a place where we have wanted to bring fathering support to the community. It was a privilege to meet with 35 leaders in the community who see the need for reaching out to and engaging fathers. The day was filled with good conversation, focused assessment of present work, and the development of an action plan for the community. People were able to learn about what others are already doing in the community, some best practice ideas, some ideas for training and staff development, and how to approach becoming more father-friendly.
Here are some ideas people left the training with:
A greater sense of the need to reach fathers and some tools I can use right away.
There is much work we all need to do!
We need to network together and also go to where the fathers are in our community.
I have new things I can do to help fathers feel comfortable in my agency.
I can’t wait to start implementing and networking with other organizations to improve our father involvement.
Different perspectives from males and females on the importance of dad’s involvement.
A better understanding of factors that can inhibit or prevent father involvement in parenting.
Engaging men is critical in effective family programming.
A coordinated way to develop a fathering strategy within my organization.
And we are not done yet!
Timmins, Ottawa, Niagara, and the Lower Mainland of BC are coming next. There are also plans to bring the toolkit to the Maritime provinces. And . . . if you want to be a leader in your community, be watching for a train-the-trainer workshop coming in June 2015.
If you are interested in having some community development training in your area, please let us know.
My Dad Matters – Engaging Men Raising the Next Generation