With special guest:
- Pete Nicholls
Who are Parents Beyond Breakup?
If you have not heard already about Parents Beyond Breakup it is very likely that you will soon because the word is getting out from our guest today Pete Nicholls who has been instrumental in raising awareness in the community. Parents Beyond Breakup is a national charity working in many communities around Australia focussing on suicide prevention in one of the demographics most at risk, namely separating parents.
Parents Beyond Breakup is the parent body for the well-known Dads in Distress who have been guests on the program many times previously and provided presenter Phil York for several years. But as our guest today Pete Nicholls explains a demand has grown for helping mothers in times of crisis and so Parents Beyond Breakup now incorporates both Dads in Distress and Mums in Distress as part of its operations.
Pete Nicholls was appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer in April 2017 with a mandate to grow the service from its current 18 locations. With a background as a father and professionally as an Organisational Psychologist, Pete hit the ground running. He has appeared on national television and in other media in his efforts to help separated Dads and Mums deal with the practical and personal challenges that can get in the way of being the best parents they can be.
If you have ever wondered what happens at a Dads in Distress meeting Pete gives us the rundown. If you want to hear about how the suicide rate plummets when those at risk become part of a Parents Beyond Breakup group our articulate speaker brings us in on the secret.
Now that Parents Beyond Breakup has the focus on being a suicide prevention charity it opens up many possibilities with regard to funding but everyone in the community is encouraged to help reduce the scourge of suicide by contributing to the work of Parents Beyond Breakup. For more information on how to become involved we invite you to go to the Parents Beyond Breakup website and our guest today would welcome any offer of assistance including help with the funding.
It is great to get a positive story in an area where we are often bombarded with bad news. But if this program does raise any issues for you please contact Lifeline on 131114 or make a resolution to contact Parents Beyond Breakup on 02 6652 8113.
Pete Nicholls
Pete Nicholls joined Parents Beyond Breakup in 2013 as a volunteer facilitator in their Western Sydney Parramatta Dads in Distress Group; later he went on to open their Sydney CBD DIDs group, now one of their busiest and most effective groups, and another in the Northern Beaches. Alongside facilitating, Pete has also served on their board helping to drive modernisation of their infrastructure to enable expansion and is a regular on the speaker circuit and in media on the subject of parental alienation, male suicide and fathering post-separation.
In April 2017 Pete was asked to step down from the board and to take on the role of acting CEO; this was primarily to help shape their external relationships and to improve funding to help them reach and support more people. Almost immediately he was thrown in front of the media on the subject of male suicide post-separation with great success.
Song selection by our guest: Vanilla Twilight by Owl City