Dads' mental health organisation starts new group

Dad La Soul founder Dan Flanagan (left) says he is expecting 30-40 people to go to the monthly event

An organisation which supports fathers with their mental health has launched a new group in the founder's hometown.

Dad La Soul, which is based in Sussex, is launching a group in Tunbridge Wells in Kent on Thursday night.

The organisation is planning to host a monthly night of stand-up comedy, Q&As, DJ lessons, VR gaming, board games, and breakout spaces where fathers can talk to each other in a bid to tackle male loneliness.

Founder Dan Flanagan said: "As a lad who grew up in Tunbridge Wells and went to school there, to be able to bring it back home to a fabulous community of people, it's not business, this is personal."

Thursday's event will take place at pay-what-you-can cafe Charlie's Angel's Kitchen, which makes meals from supermarkets' surplus food.

Mr Flanagan and cafe founder Charlie Moore first met as teenagers at their local YMCA, where they spent time at youth clubs and roller discos.

Now, almost 40 years later, they are teaming up to give dads the kind of social life they once enjoyed themselves.

"It's brilliant because when we were 13 we were at a youth club, now we've created a youth club for men," Mr Flanagan said.

Dad La Soul was started in 2016 as a result of Mr Flanagan's own experience of post-natal isolation.

Now the organisation hosts groups in Brighton, Hove, Lewes and Worthing.