Today in America, fatherhood is an institution in crisis. With one in three children in the United States living in a home with their biological father, the crisis is growing. Living without an engaged father puts children at a staggering disadvantage. They’re far more likely to drop out of school or end up homeless, addicted to drugs, in prison, or worse.
But simply blaming fathers is a mistake. Many want to be engaged and productive fathers but are caught up in a seemingly inescapable cycle of poverty and neglect. For some, the most pressing issue is day-to-day survival.
Why We’re Here
Fathers and Families Center exists to break that cycle and to replace it with something new—a cycle that dismisses the notion of poverty and absentee fatherhood as inevitable. This new cycle brings hope for the future, and rewards hard work, education, and engagement. Most important, it honors the commitment it takes to be a great father—and a great man who understands his responsibilities to his kids.
What We Do
Fathers and Families Center gives men the resources, guidance, and support they need to be great parents. Our unique emphasis on empowering fathers has helped us create a caring support system focused on exactly what they need: life-skill development, job-readiness training, education, counseling, and help finding gainful employment.
We believe that the best family has two parents, and that families need to work together so that their children can have a healthy and bright future. That’s why we also provide education, counseling, job placement assistance, and more for spouses, girlfriends, and co-parents. By offering services for both parents, we give children the best chance to succeed.
A New Cycle of Fatherhood
Every day our job gets bigger and more challenging. But we continue to empower fathers and their families—to help them break that old, destructive cycle and replace it with something new. We’re creating whole new expectations for the next generation of fathers—and their children, and their families, for generations to come.