Dads in Distress
Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at 10:30AM 
With special guests:
- Tony Miller
- Barry Williams
- Phillip York.
- Scott Hayes
- Leon Schmeider
- Chris Stokes and
- Peter Smith.
We are pleased to present a Dads in Distress special, looking at the unique work this organisation does in helping fathers in crisis.
Dads in Distress aims to provide a safe forum for men going through the trauma of divorce, separation or relationship breakdown to express their grief. It also aims to nurture, validate and stabilise men and by the nautre of the sharing that takes place guide men to become the cause of their future and not be the result of their past.
Their website is: www.dadsindistress.asn.au
With the Rudd government preparing to defund all fathers groups, and the government not providing us with any response to our questions on the issue, we talk to some of the leading figures in Dads in Distress, including founder Tony Miller. He talks about the history of Dads in Distress, what drove him to found the group and the crises it now faces after having established groups around the country.
Barry Williams has been a committed advocate for lone fathers and their families for over thirty years. He has lobbied in the Australian Parliament since 1976 . He was recognised for his work with lone parents and their children as the recipient of the British Empire Medal in1980, ACT Senior Australian of the Year Award in 2005, and the Prestige Regional Rural New South Wales and ACT Achievements Award 2007. Most recently he has been appointed by the Australian Government to be a Men’s Health Ambassador.
Leon Schmeider is the convenor of the Dads in Distress Group in Newcastle, and has worked tirelessly as a volunteer for Dids for many years. He has been an inspiration to many men in Newcastle and surrounding areas, as he seems to always go that little bit further in everything he does.
Chris Stokes is a dad who also found Dads in Distress at a very tough time in his life. He talks about how DIDS can help blokes at a very difficult time in their lives.
Peter Smith is just another dad in a long long line that have been thankful to find a Dads in Distress group in his area. He has been attending the group in Liverpool for the last 3-4 months.