Client
Dad La Soul
Dad La Soul is a Sussex social enterprise tackling isolation and poor mental health among fathers and male carers.
About the work
Dan Flanagan founded Dad La Soul in Worthing in 2017 after struggling to find anywhere he and his son could connect with other dads.
It uses music, arts, tech and play to get dads through the door, and the conversations that matter follow. Its monthly Dads Only evening sessions, playdates for dads and kids, and SEND-focused support now run across Worthing, Brighton and Hove, Eastbourne, Lewes and Tunbridge Wells.
We’ve worked alongside Dan for years.
Dad La Soul first brought us in to run a strategy workshop when it was a young organisation working through growing pains, helping the team rethink its direction and focus on clear priorities.
In November 2024 Dad La Soul and West Sussex Mind co-created Unmasking Masculinity, a men’s mental health panel evening hosted by youth music charity AudioActive at its Worthing venue. Dan invited our founder and CEO, Richard Freeman, to chair the panel. Richard then wrote the event report the partners used to plan what came next.
Since autumn 2025 we’ve been Dad La Soul’s evaluation partner. Dad La Soul commissioned us to evaluate its expansion, funded by the National Lottery Community Fund’s Reaching Communities programme. Our two-year impact evaluation runs to August 2027. It tracks what difference the sessions make to dads’ sense of connection, wellbeing and confidence as parents. It also looks at how Dad La Soul adds value for partners such as Southdown, the Sussex housing and support provider that funds its Brighton sessions.
Along the way we’re producing regular learning snapshots, case studies with dads and partners, and a final evidence pack, all designed to sit lightly on a small team. Dad La Soul has also introduced us to academic researchers working on men’s mental health nationally, and chosen to share our findings with them.
“I’ve been working with the Always Possible team over the last couple of years and have been seriously impressed with their ethos and output. They came in to run a workshop for our start-up that was suffering serious growing pains. They challenged our longstanding opinions and thought processes and helped us solve problems in a way that was extremely eye-opening. This allowed the business to change direction and focus down on the clear priorities.”
Dan Flanagan, Founder, Dad La Soul
Explore your next move.
Book a free discovery call with our CEO, Richard Freeman — or send us a brief and we’ll tell you honestly whether we’re the right people, and who else to try if not.