Group offers support to fathers

by Michael Moore
Tuesday, October 14, 2008 2:18 PM MDT

Dan Callahan enjoys spending time with his 3-year-old son William, whether it’s cheering at a rodeo or enjoying a quiet book.

He and other Casper fathers want to make sure more dads out there are spending time with their own kids, and have the resources available that they need.

“My 3-year-old is going to be a 16-, 17-, 18-year-old, and I want to make sure that there are things to do besides getting in trouble or racing the car up and down the road,” Callahan said.

He is a member of the Wyoming Fathers Network, a relatively new organization that’s dedicated to supporting and encouraging fathers.

It provides “a database to the fathers in Wyoming so that they can become more effective, more active and more involved in the raising of their children,” according to the group’s Web site.

The group was founded just over a year ago, when research from several support groups from across Wyoming showed there was little support and resources available to fathers.

About six or seven dads in the Casper area make up the current core of the group. They’ve been meeting to develop a mission statement, organize and to develop a comprehensive Web site.

“We’re now ready to get our name out there,” according to Callahan.

Planning fun, offering help

Callahan, a 23-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, moved to Casper last year with his wife and son.

He heard about the fledgling Wyoming Fathers Network, and saw it as a good opportunity to help pave the way for other fathers.

The group is working to become a resource to fathers for things like health and legal issues, and also things as simple as helping families find activities to do on weekends.

The Wyoming Fathers Network’s first planned activity, the Touch a Truck event, was held Oct. 4 in Casper.

More than 200 people showed up to get an up-close look at dump trucks, tractors, a fire engine, police cruisers and more.

“We have found a lot of things to do, but there can always be more,” Callahan said. “A 3-year-old is easy to entertain for a couple hours, but a teenager is a little tougher.”

As the group grows, Callahan would like to see it become a resource and advocate for Wyoming families.

“One of our future goals is to be a big enough organization that maybe we can team up with some of these other youth organizations and go to city council meetings and say, ‘How can you come up with a development for 300 new homes, but not a single blade of grass set aside for a park?’” he explained.

Resources available online

The organization’s Web site, www.wyomingfathers.com, contains a variety of information, including parenting articles and fun family activities.

It also contains specific information for new fathers, divorced fathers, stepfathers and more.

“Our hope on the Web site is that it will be huge,” Callahan said. “We wanted to design it that if there’s a divorced father who has an issue, instead of having to go through the whole Web site … he can find what he’s looking for.”

The site also includes a resources section, which includes links to organizations like the Children’s Defense Fund, Dads Rights, the American Coalition for Fathers and Children, and more.

The group meets the fourth Saturday of each month at 1 p.m. at the UPLIFT building, 145 S. Durbin.

For more information, visit the Web site, or call Dan Callahan at 266-9863 or Susan Bentley at 232-8944.

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