Q&A: Steel City Dads

We recently found out about Steel City Dads, a new organisation supporting dads in Sheffield, one of our existing DadPad app areas.  

We’re always excited to learn about new support groups for dads, especially those which aim to support them with their mental health, and we therefore asked Niall Bacon, from Steel City Dads, to have a chat with us so that we – and you – could find out more…

Hi Niall. Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us. 

What do Steel City Dads do and who do you support?

Steel City Dads is a perinatal mental health support service for dads-to-be and new dads in Sheffield.  We also support dads/co-parents who are supporting their partners with their own perinatal mental health issues, or who’ve experienced birth trauma, child loss or miscarriage.

Our project is government-funded and was started after feedback at the 2023 Start for Life Consultation, where parents highlighted the need for the service.  We work in partnership with other perinatal mental health organisations within Sheffield – such as Light (perinatal mental health support for mums and birthing people) and PAIRS (the Parent and Infant Relationship Service) – to ensure that families know what support is available, and where to get it.

We support men from pregnancy through to when their child is two-years-old, and offer city-wide support. We do this via one-to-one support and by organising groups and activities.

We hope that the group will allow dads to get tips and advice, and have a space to talk about the struggles and the triumphs of adapting to being a parent.

Are you also there to support non-male dads?

Absolutely – families come in different shapes and sizes, and we want to support anyone who identifies with the role of ‘dad’.

Who’s on the team?

At the moment, it’s just me on the team, but I’m actively recruiting volunteers to help with the project.  I’ve actually got my first meeting with a volunteer this week, which – all being well – will make a huge difference to how often we’re able to put on activities.

The end goal for Steel City Dads in my mind is to have peer-support groups for dads operating in communities all over Sheffield; to do this, we will need to recruit volunteers from these communities to run those sessions.  As far as additional members of staff on the project goes, we’re only funded for my role, and that funding ends in April 2025.

What’s your background and why did you decide to get involved with the project?

My background is in youth work, and I previously worked for a children’s charity called Sheffield Young Carers, who support the wellbeing of young people in a caring role through one-to-ones, groups and activities. There’s a fair bit of cross-over between the two roles, but now I’m working with dads instead of young people.

I got involved with Steel City Dads due to my own experiences of perinatal mental health. After my daughter was born, I really struggled to adapt to life as a dad.  I was the first of my peers to have a baby, and so didn’t have many other dad friends, which left me feeling isolated. As a result, I ended up having to take time off work and get support for my mental health, which was significantly impacting my ability to be the best dad that I could be.

When I saw the job come up with Steel City Dads, I knew how needed the service was, and how much of a difference that it can make to dads and their families.

What projects are Steel City Dads currently running?

Having only been in post since February of this year, my first few months have consisted of trying different activities in order to find out what the dads of Sheffield want to do.

Currently, we have a fortnightly Walk and Talk taking place at various parks across Sheffield, and also are on Week 3 of an eight-week free fitness programme being delivered by trainers from the Sheffield Wednesday Community Programme.  We’ve also been hosting dad-and-baby play sessions within Family Hubs. Finally, I’ve been delivering one-to-ones with some dads, giving them the opportunity to talk about their experience of fatherhood, and to help them explore their feelings around it.

What new developments do you have planned?

There’s nothing set in stone just yet, but we’ll continue to talk to dads to find out what they want and then try to make it happen – I’m hoping to get an influx of dads asking for a football session!

I’m also working towards getting a weekly pop-up stall within the antenatal clinic in Sheffield, in order to be able to speak with dads-t0-be, promote services that can support them (such as DadPad), and also make them familiar with Steel City Dads.

DadPad is a fantastic resource for new dads, and it’s something I’ve promoted regularly since taking on this role. In Sheffield, we also have access to the app, which is brilliant.  I recently had a discussion with one of the dads in the project about their experience of using apps, and they mentioned how nice it was to have an app specifically designed for dads, as – in their experience – most other parenting apps are mum-focused.

This all sounds really exciting, and we wish Niall and his hopefully growing team of volunteers the best of success in supporting the dads-to-be and new dads of Sheffield over the coming year – and beyond.

Where to go to find out more:

• Location: Zest, 18 Upperthorpe, Sheffield S6 3NA
• Website: https://www.zestcommunity.co.uk/services/steel-city-dads/
• Facebook: @SteelCityDads
• Instagram: @steel_city_dads
• Phone: 07918 878972
• Email: steelcitydads@zestcommunity.co.uk