Summary of the In Dads Shoes Launch at The House of Lords on the 25th June, 2012 This week, DadsHouse

and Researching Reform launched their nationwide tour, In Dads Shoes, in the House of Lords: a photographic exhibition focusing on parental love and the bond between loving fathers and their children. The exhibition featured very touching photographs taken by photojournalist Natalie Naccache, and were showcased in the River Room at the House of Lords, overlooking the River Thames and some of Londons most beautiful buildings. The guests began to arrive and before long, the River Room was filled with a happy buzz and the shy footsteps of children, holding hands, teddy bears and once the food and drink started to arrive, glasses of orange juice. The photos had been placed inside homely frames, to give the kind of intimate feel found in a personal space, like that of a familys living room, and they were lovingly placed around the room on tables, mantlepieces and the hearth of the fireplace in the River Room. The exhibition was officially opened by Lord Speaker, Baroness DSouza, who welcomed DadsHouse and Researching Reform to the Palace of Westminster. Baroness DSouza went on to say that she felt it was appropriate that members of the public should be able to use the River Room to hold functions like these and was delighted to see children at the event. Baroness DSouza noted the many guests to whom she had spoken were part of a thriving volunteer sector all trying to achieve something important for families. The Lord Speaker went on to explain the role and function of the House of Lords, which differs from that of the House of Commons. The House of Lords revises and scrutinises legislation. In doing this, peers draw upon their own professional experience but also from the work of volunteer organisations who provide research and current information. Lord Listowel then rose to give his speech, which began with a warm welcome for all to the House of Lords and introduced himself as co-host for the evening. He explained that he was treasurer of the parliamentary group for children and co chair for the parliamentary group for looked after children and a crossbench peer. Lord Listowel also welcomed Maria Miller MP, and spoke

about some of the past events Researching Reform had organised in the Palace of Westminster on family policy and his growing knowledge of DadsHouse and its founder, Billy McGranaghans own experience as a lone father. He congratulated Billy for his work through DadsHouse and wished the tour every success. Lord Listowel then introduced Maria Miller MP, who spoke next. Maria began by telling the guests about her first conversation with DadsHouse and Researching Reform in her office at the Department for Work and Pensions and how she felt from that moment that the work being done through DadsHouse was special and that whilst there were some very good organisations doing things for lone fathers, she felt that DadsHouse was approaching the area very differently to the others and congratulated the hosts for having such a fully attended event and for their innovative work. Maria also re-iterated the governments stand on family: that the government is fully dedicated to supporting parents and their children and that it is committed to helping parents work together post family breakdown and to take some of the responsibility which falls on parents shoulders to offer them the right kind of support when they need it. Maria then went on to express the governments desire to do more to help organisations supporting families and revealed the new fund they hope to make available to charities and organisations who wish to bid and whose work focuses on helping families. She spoke of the in-depth reform taking place within her department and the focus on making sure that policy centered around child welfare and the important role parents of both genders have to play in bringing up happy, healthy children. As her address came to a close, Maria told the guests and speakers that she felt the tour itself was also very special and would help drive home the message that both parents deserve support and once that support is there, will allow families to be as successful as they can be. She also encouraged DadsHouse to bid for some of the funds the government was making available to organisations supporting families and looked forward to seeing DadsHouse succeed and watching its progress. After congratulating DadsHouse on their work, Maria then handed the microphone over to Billy McGranaghan, founder of DadsHouse.

Billy opened his speech by thanking everyone for attending, and began to talk about the need to have support for lone fathers, in a sector where so little seems to be happening at grass roots and in terms of services for these dads. He spoke about a common sense approach to support, which can sometimes get lost in overly academic discussion and which is hugely effective amongst families suffering from breakdown. Billy also talked about the kinds of things DadsHouse offers fathers: from cooking classes to counsellors and football nights, Billy explained that DadsHouse had already helped thousands of dads work through their concerns and sometimes the all-consuming anger which can take hold and make communication with ex partners difficult. Billy also highlighted the sometimes different ways in which men and women reached out, communicated and coped with separation or the loss of their family and urged everyone to be sensitive to those differences where they exist, and in so doing, enabling for better services to be made available in a way that suits families looking for support. In closing, Billy also highlighted the fact that being a dad was not all about shouldering great responsibilities or facing difficult times in their lives, but was also a time of great happiness and fun, and that with children, there are always fantastic times to be had. As he left the podium, Billy then turned to Natasha Phillips, the author of Researching Reform and asked her to say a few words which she was not expecting! Natasha then stood by the podium and explained candidly that she had not prepared any thoughts, but she re-iterated Billy McGranaghans sentiments about fathers, and thanked the guests and speakers for coming to the launch. Natasha thanked Maria Miller for taking time out of her hectic schedule to speak and share her experience with the guests and she also thanked Lord Speaker for opening the event. A special thank you was given to Lord Listowel for making the River Room available to DadsHouse for the event and for his continued support of DadsHouse. She also explained that she felt DadsHouses work was unique and that their focus on child welfare was very special and in fact what made the organisation so special for her. Natasha then handed over to the last speaker for the evening, David Marshall, a co-founder of the organisation, DadsRock, which provides music-based activities for dads and their children.

Davids speech was filled with humour and it wasnt long before both guests and fellow speakers were laughing into their wine glasses. David spoke about DadsRock, the meaning behind the name, which was to express that fathers too can be rocks, a form of security, for their children, and that having gone to several childrens groups and finding that he was left feeling less than welcome, he decided to start up DadsRock to offer a friendly alternative. David spoke passionately about fathers and the work DadsRock is doing to help dads and their kids spend time together. He expressed the view that loving fathers are an important ingredient in raising children and welcomed the chance to be involved with the In Dads Shoes tour and DadsHouse. David then thanked the guests and speakers for listening to his address and wished everyone a lovely evening. With the speeches closed, the exhibition opened to the heaving conversation of a very busy room. The guests came from diverse fields: from The BBC, ITV, The Sun and government departments, DadsHouse and Researching Reform were very privileged to host them all. As well as members of the press and government officials and politicians, the launch welcomed experienced pressure groups, high profile photographers, lawyers and charity representatives, who spoke and mingled with each other well past the exhibitions official closing time. Children giggled and ran around the room, albeit very politely in fact, the children were so well behaved they blended in perfectly with the giggling adults at the event. It was a shame to bring the event to a close, but the last guests were gently ushered out and the doors to the River Room closed for the evening. We would like to thank all of our guests for coming all the way to our launch for In Dads Shoes and to our speakers for giving such touching speeches and giving us all so much to think about. Many thanks to Baroness DSouza for kindly agreeing to open the event and giving us permission to use the very beautiful River Room and a heart-felt thank you to Lord Listowel, for giving us the opportunity to host our launch in the House of Lords. Thank you too, to Natalie Naccache, for providing such lovely photos of single fathers and their children. We wish Natalie every success with her budding career as a photojournalist. A very big thank you must also go to Terry, who oversaw the River Room and was incredibly kind with us. We couldnt have had such a

lovely event without him. And, of course, a big merci to Cafe Montparnasse in Kensington for supplying the loveliest, lightest puff pastry hors d'oeuvres for the evening and serving them so graciously, and for so long, to the guests. We would also like to thank our sponsors for making this event possible. DadsHouse and Researching Reform were overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of Gazprom, in8, Genesis Imaging, FAMIA and Chelsea Insurance Brokers. And last but not least, a big thank you to the Department for Work and Pensions and Maria Miller MP, for supporting the work at DadsHouse.