Dads Grieve Too Losing a child at any time is one of the most painful and devastating experiences that someone can go through. Sadly, so many men, once excited at the prospect of being a dad, many for the first time, never get to experience this joy. Pillars of Strength has a number of programmes to help dads. We are bringing bereaved dads together in situations where they can experience some sense of normality - hanging out with their mates and doing things that men do. In doing so, we are building communities where men help men. Our programmes currently include tickets to sporting events - you must take a family member or mate along; and events managed by Pillars of Strength for dads to meet other dads and their mates. We are building new programmes: tickets to a wide range of other sporting and non-sporting events; regular meet-ups for Pillars of Strength dads and mates; time-out courses for dads and their mates to learn new skills; Pillars of Strength sporting teams; and volunteering programmes for dads who want to help us build Pillars of Strength into a national programme. The Time Out programme is exactly what it sounds like - it gives dads their own time to reconnect with their network of mates without actually having to ask for help - instead as an example, they just ask if they want to go to the footy... It can also allow dads to meet a peer support network of dads and their mates who have been through a similar situation. This shows him is a very real way that he is not alone. A dad who has this time out can reflect, reenergise and refocus - he can get back to being the Pillar of Strength his family needs him to be. He is also reconnected with his support network – the people around him who have always been there but may not have been able to engage him.