Our story

Matt never knew his birth father, he abandoned him before he ever got the chance to ask why.

He grew up with a deeply flawed far right stepfather who took his own life in 2024 on Remembrance Sunday rather than succumb to alcoholism and cancer. 

He was abusive and controlling, and pushed Matt out of his own family home from a young age.

What followed was a long, lonely chapter: poverty, homelessness, mental health struggles, and years battling sex and love addiction. 

He had no guide. No map. No role model.

Then in 2011, He became a dad, and everything changed.

He made a promise, that he would become the role model he never had. 

That the cycle would end with him.

It was from that deeply personal turning point that Dadzclub was conceived: a space where fathers could connect, grow, and find support on their parenting journey, especially those doing it without a blueprint.

Soon after, Matt recognised that it wasn’t just fathers who were being overlooked, but all kinds of parents. Young parents. Isolated parents. Parents affected by trauma, poverty or systemic neglect. So in 2017, he launched The Parenting Network, a response to the clear lack of inclusive, holistic family support services in Portsmouth.

Bringing together other passionate lived experienced leaders, what began with one man’s lived experience and a local dad’s group has now grown into one of Hampshire’s leading third sector organisations for families. 

Matt Foster is a lived experience leader who has transformed personal trauma into a lifelong mission to support others. 

With over 25 years in the third sector, he is the founder and CEO of The Parenting Network and Dadzclub, organisations that challenge outdated narratives around masculinity and provide inclusive, community-based support for families.

Today, The Parenting Network has become a household name in Portsmouth for family support, offering everything from stay-and-play sessions and baby banks to father-focused programmes that give dads a place to connect and thrive.

Matt’s leadership extends far beyond these core projects. He has led major holiday hunger initiatives, coordinated the delivery of thousands of activity packs during the COVID-19 lockdowns, and spearheaded Portsmouth’s largest peacetime humanitarian response when war broke out in Ukraine.

Driven by compassion, lived experience, and a deep belief in the power of community, Matt continues to inspire change, build connections, and create practical solutions where they’re needed most.