One in seven fathers needs help

Essential needs
June 13, 2022 •  By Raymond Villeneuve
Père et fils

The Regroupement pour la Valorisation de la Paternité (RVP) has chosen the simple question Hey Dad, do you need help? as the slogan for the tenth edition of the Semaine Québécoise de la Paternité, which ran from June 13 to 19, because all parents need support sometimes!


According to an SOM survey[1] commissioned by the RVP that was conducted among 2000 respondents, after two years of the pandemic, one in seven Quebec fathers with children aged 0 to 18 (13%) is experiencing high psychological distress and, therefore, needs support. For specific groups, such as low-income fathers, this percentage rises to 29%. What is more concerning is that only 34% of these fathers sought help from a resource in the past year, which means that two thirds of the most vulnerable fathers did not receive any psychosocial assistance.

Because so many dads in our communities need help, our campaign aims to raise awareness among the public and particularly among family support agencies, about the needs of fathers and the importance of their requests for help. This is important not just for their well-being but also for the well-being of their children and spouses.

We want to start a big wave of support so that fathers can ask other fathers, Hey Dad, do you need help? So that family members can ask Hey Dad, do you need help?So that agencies supporting families can compassionately connect with fathers and ask, Hey Dad, do you need help? And so that, collectively, we can reach out to fathers and ask them, Hey Dads, do you need help?

This is especially important because, as the SOM survey points out, the fathers most in need of help are those most at risk of poverty and social exclusion. Among all respondents, low-income fathers were the most likely to report high psychological distress (29%). Allophone fathers (17%) and Anglophone fathers (19%) are also over-represented among the most vulnerable fathers.

During Semaine Québécoise de la Paternité, the RVP invited you to pay attention to the fathers in your personal and professional lives. Because one in seven fathers need help. And that’s a lot of dads! Across Quebec, this represents 130,000 men and, in Greater Montreal, around 60,000 dads, which could fill the Olympic Stadium.

Help us ask this important question for the well-being of families: Hey Dad, do you need help? And… if you need help to better support fathers in your community, don’t hesitate to contact the RVP.

Raymond Villeneuve, Executive Director

Regroupement pour la Valorisation de la Paternité

[1] The full survey results are available from the website of the Semaine Québécoise de la Paternité: https://www.semainedelapaternite.org/en/