1. Men at Work Annual Report 2013/14
Our vision is a society where no child loses contact with their
father
Our purpose is to relieve the needs and improve the health
and wellbeing of father figures at risk of, experiencing, or
affected by family breakdown.

2. Men at Work
Men’s Family Breakdown Peer-Support Group
Annual Report 2013-14
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Introduction
‘Men at Work’ is a group of support workers and fathers with knowledge and experience of family
breakdown, shared parenting and child contact problems and issues. We aim to provide fathers with
the support they need to move forwards into a life where they may continue to provide their
children with the positive, loving and fulfilling relationships they need and with the opportunities
which they deserve.
We celebrate our first year of service delivery with the establishment of a successful men’s support
service addressing the needs of fathers affected by family breakdown and loss of child-contact.
Ultimately child-focused, Men at Work help fathers overcome barriers to contact by supporting dads
so they may continue to support their children by maintaining regular, appropriate and sustainable
father-child contact.
2014 Overview
2014 has seen Men at Work take make some massive steps forward and establish an excellent
relationship with both clients and partner organisations. The priorities this past year have been the
following:-
1. Establish a volunteering programme
2. Raise funds to support the delivery of the work
3. Promote the vision of Men at Work across the city
4. Develop partnerships and establish referral processes with other organisations
5. To relieve the needs and improve the health and wellbeing of father figures in
Sheffield

3. Men at Work
Men’s Family Breakdown Peer-Support Group
Annual Report 2013-14
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2014 Progress Report
1. Establish a volunteering programme
Through Men at Work’s partnership with Shipshape, we have established and recruited
volunteers to contribute to the delivery of the service. The role of the volunteers has included
providing 1 to 1 client support, administration and promotion, event organising and group
activities. Through 2014 we have been able to increase the number of volunteering
opportunities available and tailor the roles to deliver an effective, professional service.
2. Raise funds to support the delivery of the work
The past year has seen Men at Work raise over £10,000 in funding. The funding is being used to
develop the peer support volunteering programme, organise events and support the day to day
costs of the service. Further work is under way to bring in additional financial resource to
increase the amount of capacity Men at Work has to deliver the service.
3. Promote the vision of Men at Work across the city
Men at Work have been featured on BBC Radio Sheffield, Sharrow Today newspaper and
through June’s ‘Communities Got Talent’ conference to over 150 attendees (including senior
council officers, local councillors and members of the CCG board). In addition to these successes,
the Men at Work team have been able to raise the profile of the difficulties faced by clients, the
demand for the service and the impact of the work being carried out.
4. Develop partnerships and establish referral processes with other organisations
Men at Work have established a number of partnerships and referral processes in 2014. These
have included a range of public, private and voluntary sector organisations, departments and
even a private law firm. Through these partnerships we have been able to establish quarterly
free legal advice sessions in partnership with Simons, Sissons and Brooke solicitors for Men at
Work clients. Also, Men at Work has been able to develop working partnership with probation
service, Action Housing, Sheffield City Council Social Services, Archer Project and many more
organisations.
5. To relieve the needs and improve the health and wellbeing of father figures in
Sheffield
The primary need of clients is to reinstate contact with their children as urgently as possible. This
drive blinds clients to any and every other difficulty in their lives – work, debt, housing and all
other daily commitments fall by the wayside until this single, all-important issue is resolved.
With little or no information about what to do or where to go for help and support, this leaves
fathers shrinking into a life of loneliness, depression and isolation.
As problems escalate and Dads don’t know what to do; our service-users come to us feeling the
world has turned against them, often angry and bitter. Loneliness and depression leaves men
more likely to involve in risky behaviours from drugs, alcoholism, smoking and poor nutrition as

4. Men at Work
Men’s Family Breakdown Peer-Support Group
Annual Report 2013-14
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evening takeaways replace wholesome family food, unemployment replaces work and exercise
as fathers sink further into depression and isolation, from which some may never recover.
1 to 1 mentorship and peer-support helps us unpick clients’ histories and the underlying
causes/barriers to contact, signpost specialist support and prepare person-centred support
plans, tailored to individual need. Planning recovery and work to overcome parental anger and
bitterness to help fathers focus wholly on the welfare of their children, we help clients see family
breakdown from the child’s perspective to alert clients to the impact of their behaviour. This
helps as we prepare Dad for Family Court, social care assessments, reports and even the
possibility of non-legal forms of resolution to contact for the benefit of the child.

5. Men at Work
Men’s Family Breakdown Peer-Support Group
Annual Report 2013-14
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Men at Work Team
Over the past year we have been able to expand the Men at Work team. At present, everyone
involved in Men at Work gives up their own time and works on a voluntary basis, with our aim for
2015 to be in a position to employ a volunteer co-ordinator. The committed team have contributed
in a number of ways over the past year and established Men at Work as a well-regarded
organisation.
Waqas Hameed – Chair
In 2003 I worked as a chef, then went to Morrison’s and became supervisor for two years. In 2009 I
became Health Champion to utilise my skills for the benefit of my local community and in 2010 I
took the job of health trainer and stop smoking advisor Darnall well-being. In 2011 I became senior
health trainer at ShipShape delivering chronic pain Pilot project. At present I am a Senior Health
Trainer at Darnall Well Being working with clients around diabetes, chronic pain and lifestyle
management. Good listening, encouragement, motivating others, empathy and wish to support and
help people who are in need of support are some of my skills.
Ben Rose - Secretary / Peer-support project manager
Experiencing family breakdown as a child and again as a father; Ben understands how far-reaching
the impact of family breakdown can be. Negative childhood experiences led to difficulties as a young
man until, by age 30, Ben was studying a university degree and settled as a father before beginning a
career in supported housing. Parental disagreements resulted in limited child-contact and a
regression into alcoholism. Following recovery Ben began working in community project
development, expanding capacity to develop a unique skill-set and support other fathers in pursuit
of contact with their children.
Chris Hanson - Treasurer
I’m the manager of Shipshape health and wellbeing project and also Men at Work treasurer.
Through my role at Shipshape we have been able to support Men at Work in a number of ways
including providing office space, writing funding bids and support with the volunteering programme.
I am passionate about developing projects which improve the health and wellbeing of our
communities. It’s been a privilege to be part of the Men at Work team for the past 18 months and to
contribute to the successes we’ve seen in that time.
Rob Arfield - Board member / peer support volunteer.
My role within the men at work group is as follows. Predominantly my role will be to work as a drug
and alcohol misuse counsellor and aid clients with these problems to get the help they need from
other services. In other areas I will aid clients as a court liaison during custody cases and will also
give advice in the office accordingly. As the vice secretary I will also carry out my duties keeping
records and filling systems up to date and aid with IT duties where needed. I also contact other
agencies on behalf of men at work in aid of promoting the group and on behalf of clients.

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Men’s Family Breakdown Peer-Support Group
Annual Report 2013-14
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Phil Eddyshaw – Board member
I am a father of two girls which is a great experience but also a big challenge. I work at ShipShape as
Family and Children’s Health Worker and as part of this job run the Dads Group, a fun and
educational session for men and their kids every Saturday morning. This has been running for over 8
years going back to when I was a Dads Worker employed by NHS and Action for Children. I would
like to serve on the Men at Work committee because I believe in its vision and think I can be helpful
in taking it forward.
Andy Stockton - Trainer and organisation advisor
I am delighted at the opportunity to bring my experience of supporting fathers, fathers to be and
young fathers and their families to Men At Work, and have found it deeply rewarding to contribute
strategic and operational guidance to the organisation.
In addition to several years’ experience working within diverse Sheffield communities as ICDH tutor,
I have designed and delivered other lifelong learning and professional skills programmes. I also spent
two years as Chair of Burngreave and Firvale Surestart Partnership Board, helping to ensure the
stabilisation and continuation of the programme.
Sachin Kirpane – Board member / peer support volunteer.
My role involves providing information, guidance, advice and co-father peer-support to men
undergoing family breakdown and loss of child contact by talking and listening to clients and offering
practical solutions to their difficulties. I support issues faced by immigrants, refugees and asylum
seekers. I would like to develop this further to enable me to supply specialist knowledge and support
in this area. Networking local groups and organisations in an effort to build and maintain a strong
and trusted link between ‘Men at Work’ and the organisations, groups and people living in and
around the communities surrounding Darnall, Tinsley and Manor. I am able to maintain
responsibility for filing client and group documents both electronically and by paper for all activities
operating out of Darnall Children’s Centre and my information, technology and communication skills
both written and verbal enable me to maintain good communication with and feed back to the rest
of the ‘Men at Work’ group. This information will be shared as necessary at group meetings and
more regularly by email, telephone and text message.
Sean Dennis – Peer support volunteer
I’ve recently joined Men at Work as peer support volunteer. I am currently involved in providing 1 to
1 support and working alongside Ben to support referrals to the service. I am looking forward to
developing the work we do and providing support to our clients.
Matty Brooker – Social Café facilitator.
As a former service user of Men at Work has led on to me becoming a volunteer Men at Work and
Shipshape. I am involved in supporting both organisations, including providing advocacy support to
clients with mental health conditions and setting up a social café. Being part of Men at Work and
Shipshape teams has benefitted me immensely and I really value being able to support the work of
both organisations.

7. Men at Work
Men’s Family Breakdown Peer-Support Group
Annual Report 2013-14
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