Dads in Distress

With special guest:

• Pete Nicholls
  … in conversation with Glen Poole

2019 marks twenty years of Dads in Distress (DIDs) activities.

This is a fabulous achievement which deserves widespread recognition in our community. From an idea conceived on a veranda in Coffs Harbour by Founder Tony Miller it is fair to say that thousands of men who felt they were in hopeless situations have been helped.

In this program we get to speak with current Chief Executive Pete Nicholls about the history of Dads in Distress and what we can expect in the future. Pete tells us that both Dads in Distress and now Mums in Distress come under the banner of Parents Beyond Breakup as the group continues to expand its operations. Pete has been in the role of Chief Executive for a little over eighteen months. He came to the position with experience in the business world as well as personal experience of what can interrupt the relationship between a father and his child.

Pete tells us that Dads in Distress is overwhelmingly a volunteer organisation. We learn that the main benefit is bringing together parents at different stages of the process of family separation who can pass on encouragement, experience and some comfort. The benefits are clear as Pete tells us.

We at Dads on the Air have always had a close link with Dads in Distress and have followed developments closely over the years. At one time a DIDs officer, Phil, was one of the Dads presenting programs, doing research and some of the panelling for our radio programs.

As we approach the twentieth anniversary of DIDs we salute Parents Beyond Breakup, its components Dads in Distress and Mums in Distress and their inspiring leader Pete Nicholls.

Pete Nicholls

Pete Nicholls joined Parents Beyond Breakup in 2013 as a volunteer facilitator in their Western Sydney Parramatta Dads in Distress Group; later he went on to open their Sydney CBD DIDs group, now one of their busiest and most effective groups, and another in the Northern Beaches. Alongside facilitating, Pete has also served on the board of DIDs helping to drive modernisation of their infrastructure to enable expansion. Pete is a regular on the speaker circuit and in the media on the subject of parental alienation, male suicide and fathering post-separation.

In April 2017 Pete was asked to step down from the board and to take on the role of CEO primarily to help shape external relationships and to improve funding in order to help reach and support more people.

Song selections by our guest: Never Give Up by Sia & I Said Hi by Amy Shark

Listen Now (mp3)