Nathan and his children |
Young Fathers Program is open to young men ages 14-28 years old who are engaged in the role of parenting. This program assists young men in improving their parenting skills, and in enhancing their ability to provide for their children, and take an active role in their lives.
Parenting classes
The parenting class is a twelve week curriculum designed specifically to address the needs of young fathers. It includes modules on the father child relationship, positive discipline, child development, communicating with your partner, co-parenting, nutrition and stress management.
Ongoing one on one support
Through case management, to give young dads the opportunity to explore issues such as parenting, barriers to work, housing, education, and other barriers to self-sufficiency. It also offers the chance to build a relationship with someone who can help set and meet goals and link dads to needed community resources.
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A few years ago, “Levi” was more concerned with his next drug fix than spending time with his baby son ‘Tim.’ Now, with Catholic Community Services’ help, he has stabilized his living conditions and brought Tim back into his life. He is determined to help Tim avoid his mistakes.
Levi describes his childhood as “chaos, complete chaos” and marvels in disbelief at his dangerous past. To escape his impoverished upbringing, he dropped out of school and turned to dealing, believing that “drugs was a way up and out for me.” Instead, drugs sucked away his aspirations, leaving a pernicious addiction. At Tim’s birth, Levi was afraid that he would hurt his son just by holding him. “I had to be a Dad,” he recounts. “I just didn’t know how.”
Tim’s arrival spurred his father’s grueling yet earnest rehabilitation. Levi entered a drug recovery program that helped him to overcome his addiction but did little to prepare him for responsible parenting. Grasping for the next step away from his past life, Levi called Catholic Community Services where he was referred to the Young Fathers Program. For over a decade, Catholic Community Services has recognized the importance of the father-child relationship, particularly within young, low-income families, by offering one of the few programs in Oregon specifically suited for needs of young fathers.
Levi enrolled in our 12-week Young Fathers Class, where he learned the fundamentals of parenting. He also attended separate support group sessions to share successes, voice frustrations, and draw inspiration. Our case manager helped Levi with daily living matters like finding and maintaining a job, paying rent on time, budgeting and getting a driver’s license. Now that Levi has seen that he can succeed in day-to-day living, he is more confident about controlling his life and parenting his son. “Thanks to this program, I have options these days,” he says. “I can do things that before I could never do.”
Levi currently maintains full-time employment, his own housing, and most importantly, parents his son regularly. |
