Young men facing fatherhood have consistently told us that they struggle to maintain contact with same-age peers after becoming a dad. What’s more, young men rarely know or meet other young dads, leaving them socially isolated and often lonely. In an effort to address this issue, we continue to invest in new and exciting opportunities that bring young men together, including dedicated Peer Support Groups and more recently Dads and Toddler playgroups.

Information on our current groups is presented below.

Gateshead Young Dads Group –
Established in 2016 this group meets regularly in Gateshead and is open to all young dads (aged under 25), regardless of how often they get see their children. Whilst the programme of activities changes throughout the year, we have recently participated in the following activities:

  • Basketball
  • Beach trips
  • Bee keeping and joinery
  • Bread making and cookery
  • Bushcraft & wild camping
  • Capoeira – martial art
  • Fatherhood awareness
  • Film making
  • First Aid
  • Fishing
  • Football
  • Games nights, and quizzes
  • Paintball
  • Parenting skills
  • Relationship skills
  • Sexual Health awareness
  • Snooker and pool hall visits
  • Trampolining

Because groups often work better when people make a commitment to attend regularly, we like to spend a little time getting to know every young dad before inviting them to join. This will be discussed with you when you first meet one of our project staff or volunteers.

Young men facing fatherhood have consistently told us that they struggle to maintain contact with same-age peers after becoming a dad. What’s more, young men rarely know or meet other young dads, leaving them socially isolated and often lonely. In an effort to address this issue, we continue to invest in new and exciting opportunities that bring young men together, including dedicated Peer Support Groups and more recently Dads and Toddler playgroups.

Information on our current groups is presented below.

Gateshead Young Dads Group –
Established in 2016 this group meets regularly in Gateshead and is open to all young dads (aged under 25), regardless of how often they get see their children. Whilst the programme of activities changes throughout the year, we have recently participated in the following activities:

  • Basketball
  • Beach trips
  • Bee keeping and joinery
  • Bread making and cookery
  • Bushcraft & wild camping
  • Capoeira – martial art
  • Fatherhood awareness
  • Film making
  • First Aid
  • Fishing
  • Football
  • Games nights, and quizzes
  • Paintball
  • Parenting skills
  • Relationship skills
  • Sexual Health awareness
  • Snooker and pool hall visits
  • Trampolining

Because groups often work better when people make a commitment to attend regularly, we like to spend a little time getting to know every young dad before inviting them to join. This will be discussed with you when you first meet one of our project staff or volunteers.

Dedicated Young Dads & Toddlers Playgroups

Designed to create a safe and welcoming space for young men to come together and parent their children, we now run regular playgroups in Gateshead & South Tyneside. Contact us for more details.

  • YOUNG FATHER

    ‘keeping my mind active and open to new opportunities’

    ‘Losing contact with my daughter and falling out with the mother of my child was really painful for me, especially as I was in college at the time. Getting involved in the young dads group helped support me through this time by keeping my mind active and open to new opportunities’

  • YOUNG FATHER

    ‘you can just bond with and make friends’

    ‘That’s what the group’s for, to like have other young fathers that you can just bond with and make friends’

  • YOUNG FATHER

    ‘where we’ve got our own space’

    ‘…it’s nice to have a place to meet up, a secure place like this where we’ve got our own space’

North East Young Dads and Lads Project
c/o BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Arts
South Shore Road
Gateshead
NE8 3BA

Doug Laidlaw (Senior Project Worker)

Tel: 07990 164449

info@neydl.uk

© 2018 NEYDL
Registered in England
Charity No: 1172924
Company No: CE009920

Dedicated to helping young men play an active and meaningful role in the lives of their children

Dedicated to helping young men play an active and meaningful role in the lives of their children