Leeds support group for single dads is honoured at Community Integration Awards ceremony

A support group set up for single  dads and their children in Leeds has been honoured  at a national awards ceremony for its work during the Covid pandemic.
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Lloyd 'Sketch' Herah Junior, 43, started support group Delta-Alpha-Delta two years ago after becoming frustrated at the lack of advice and help available for single dads.

Delta-Alpha-Delta was awarded a commendation at the 2021 Community Integrations Awards on January 28 for its work supporting lone parent fathers and families during the pandemic.

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Lloyd, of Meanwood, said he became a single parent in 2016 when his son Aston-Leslie was two years old.

Lloyd 'Sketch' Herah (right) from Meanwood, Leeds, with son Aston-Leslie, seven,  and neighbour Peter Makin.

Photo: Gary LongbottomLloyd 'Sketch' Herah (right) from Meanwood, Leeds, with son Aston-Leslie, seven,  and neighbour Peter Makin.

Photo: Gary Longbottom
Lloyd 'Sketch' Herah (right) from Meanwood, Leeds, with son Aston-Leslie, seven, and neighbour Peter Makin. Photo: Gary Longbottom

Lloyd and a group of friends launched Delta-Alpha-Delta in 2019.

And Lloyd developed a project alongside it for his son and his friends - Skribble Kidz Media Project - a YouTube channel where children can talk about their hobbies and interests.

The Delta-Alpha-Delta group now has more than 100 members including single dads, dads seeking access rights to see their children and dads in two parent families.

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Lloyd said the group has been focusing on helping lone parent dads and families cope during the Covid crisis.

Lloyd 'Sketch' Herah (right) from Meanwood, Leeds, with son Aston Leslie, seven,  and neighbour Peter Makin with a food box they have put together for members of the  Delta-Alpha-Delta  group.

Photo: Gary LongbottomLloyd 'Sketch' Herah (right) from Meanwood, Leeds, with son Aston Leslie, seven,  and neighbour Peter Makin with a food box they have put together for members of the  Delta-Alpha-Delta  group.

Photo: Gary Longbottom
Lloyd 'Sketch' Herah (right) from Meanwood, Leeds, with son Aston Leslie, seven, and neighbour Peter Makin with a food box they have put together for members of the Delta-Alpha-Delta group. Photo: Gary Longbottom

The Hamara Healthy Living Centre in Beeston and The Salvation Army have been providing donated items for food parcels for some members and their families during lockdown.

Lloyd and his neighbour Peter Makin have been helping make up food parcels for up to 20 families a week during the pandemic

Lloyd, whose son Aston-Leslie is now aged seven, said he struggled when he became a single dad in 2016.

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At the time he was working full time as an employment specialist in a job that took him across the north of England.

Lloyd 'Sketch' Herah (right) from Meanwood, Leeds, with  neighbour Peter Makin.

Photo: Gary LongbottomLloyd 'Sketch' Herah (right) from Meanwood, Leeds, with  neighbour Peter Makin.

Photo: Gary Longbottom
Lloyd 'Sketch' Herah (right) from Meanwood, Leeds, with neighbour Peter Makin. Photo: Gary Longbottom

Lloyd said he had to drop to part time working before leaving that job and becoming a stay at home dad.

Lloyd, who now works for HMP Leeds as a family support worker, said: "When my son came to live with me, I was still living in a one bedroom flat in Chapeltown.

"It didn't take long before I realised that there was no support, advice or guidance for a guy like me raising his child alone.

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"It was a very difficult period, and although some family members supported me, I had a baptism of fire.

"It was, and remains, the most challenging thing I've ever done.

"There were no books or how to guides, and services I attempted to access were for single mums and tots and practically non-existent.

"I tried to access parenting groups to be told they were predominantly for women and mothers.

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"I reached out to fathers' groups to find the closest was in London.

"I felt isolated and very scared. All I want is to be a good dad for my child and here I was struggling to sleep, worrying constantly about how to raise my child.

"It got so bad and my anxieties were through the roof, I knew I had to do something before I cracked.

"I started bumping into other guys that were raising their child alone and started to see that I was not the only father in this position. "

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"I wondered why no one ever heard about us and why society constantly stated many men in the BAME community were absent from their childrens' lives.

"We wanted to set up a fraternity as it fostered brotherhood and comradeship, while providing community service activities."

For more information on Delta-Alpha-Delta, contact Lloyd Herah Junior via email at [email protected]

For more about the Community Integration Awards, go to www.integrationawards.uk

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