Non-profit group helps dads become better fathers
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A Columbus non-profit is working to help men in central Ohio become even better fathers.
FatherUp is an initiative through Action For Children, which has been offering a variety of services to fathers in the area for several years. Fatherhood specialists, help navigating courts and childcare, and employment assistance are all available, according to Jeff Kramer, manager of Family Asset Building Programs at Action For Children.
“Almost every outcome for your child increases in a positive way when a father is positively in their child's life so we’re helping them navigate how to be positively involved in their child's life within the situation they’re in," he said.
The initiative also facilitates group discussions which are referred to as Cohorts. The spring cohorts just started.
"We’re not here to tell you how to be a father, we’re here to have conversations and then you take what's going to work for your family right and you apply it. So that really is the basis of what we’re doing and you’re going to learn from the guy on your right, you’re going to learn from the guy on your left," Kramer said.
Drew King took part in those discussions about two years ago.
“When you relate to all the other fathers you find out a lot of them go through the exact same thing and you kind of feel support and you don't feel alone in some sense," he said.
King has two kids and said that at the time he started with Father Up, he was looking for some reassurance. He had recently gotten divorced. The flier had been sitting on his table for a few weeks before he reached out.
“It did help me, it brought me comfort in that way as well to know that, see other fathers and to know I wasn't a failure because of my relationship," King said.
He has since become a program coordinator and is helping other dads.
“Going to programs like this and participating in them will help you be a better father, will help others be a better father, and I know, with me, when I took the program, I felt like I helped a lot of other fathers who took it with me and I felt like they helped me as well," he said.
The services offered through the initiative are free. The cohorts start about every four weeks.