TOP TIP - University of Brighton Repository

2
Reaching and PROMISING PRACTICE
engaging young fathers
Reaching and engaging young fathers is the ‘bread and butter’ of young
fathers work. We asked a number of projects and organisations about the
methods they had used that had worked and the ones that had not. We
also asked what they had learned about engaging young fathers. Finally,
we present some examples of promising practice in terms of reaching
school-age and teenage fathers.
Accessing young fathers
Projects reported a wide range of
methods to raise awareness of
their work and reach
and/or engage young
fathers. To help promote
their project, B2b+ in
Sunderland use simple
written material (e.g. leaflets
and posters) with jargonfree
language to account for
the fact that some young
men may have poor literacy
skills. B2b+ works to ensure young
fathers can engage with their services by
offering drop-in sessions, providing a
range of venues where courses take
‘You really
need to get into
the community
and find out
who the people
are – the
people who
know people.’
place, offering group, outreach (e.g.
home visits), telephone, one-to-one
support, or a venue of the
young dad’s choice.
Combined with inclusive
‘men-friendly’ policies
(where the term ‘young
parents’ has been replaced
with ‘young mothers’ and
‘young fathers’), B2b+ has
enjoyed strong successes
in reaching young fathers.
During 2004-5, a total of 40 young
fathers accessed support through the
project. Other examples include the
Great Yarmouth Young Men’s Project
‘IF YOU CAN
ENGAGE
YOUNG
FATHERS-TO-
BE BEFORE
THEIR BABY’S
BORN, YOU
CAN SOW THE
SEEDS,
WHEREAS
COMING IN
LATER IS MUCH
HARDER.’
Key Questions
* How many young
fathers are there in your
area?
• What specific needs do
they have?
• Which young fathers do
you want to reach?
• Who might be able to
help you do this?
• What approaches or
methods might help you
reach and engage young
fathers?
• How might these
methods exclude some
young men?
Supporting Young Fathers 17