Our story

Portsmouth born father of two, Matt has worked in the third sector for more than 25 years supporting some of Portsmouth's most vulnerable people and is now using his skills and experience as a leading social entrepreneur across several sectors. 

For Matt, becoming a parent brought about deeply repressed feelings of paternal abandonment and rejection from his absent birth father and this had a huge impact on choices he made around being a better father for his children, including one child with complex additional needs. 

His experiences highlighted gaps in support for a growing number of Dads who wanted to be more involved in their children’s lives. From this journey into parenthood, Dadzclub, a supportive community for fathers was conceived.

The Parenting Network was established a year later after Matt identified further gaps in support for other marginalised parent groups, in particular, young parents. Today with the support of a very talented team of professionals, The Parenting Network has grown into one of the area's leading third sector family support services delivering 8 programmes across Hampshire.