Sojourner’s Truth Staff

After four years, the YMCA’s Fatherhood Initiative is still going strong, in part, at least, to the leadership of Director J. Lyons, who has been with the program since its inception.

The Fatherhood Initiative is a program geared to deliver a variety of emotional, educational and employment services primarily to fathers who are unemployed or underemployed, who are receiving benefits from the Lucas County Jobs and Family Services department or who have a minor child in the home or have a child support obligation through the Lucas County Child Support Enforcement Agency.

The program takes referrals, says Lyons, from anywhere: Child Support Enforcement Agency, Juvenile Court, Pathways’ Brothers United, local attorneys.

Fathers who are attending the program then have the ability to access informational and support services including but not limited to: computer literacy, mental health support, employment readiness, financial education, food assistance, childcare assistance, child support assistance, legal advocacy, HEAP assistance, among other services.

At any given time as many as 65 fathers could be enrolled in the program and they are not limited in the amount of time they may spend with the Fatherhood Initiative. "We are looking at behavior modification and that takes time," says Lyons.

In order to ensure the success of the program, partnerships have been formed with a wide array of community agencies such as Bank on Toledo, Bridges Out of Poverty, Food for Thought, Kent Branch Library, National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse, The Ohio Commission on Fatherhood, United Way, WCA childcare Referral & Resource.

In addition to Lyons, the program’s leadership team includes Kori Jackson, case manager; Edward Summers, recruitment specialist and program facilitator; Rebecca Brown, certified community health worker.

Lyons, a St. Ursula graduate, earned her undergraduate degree and a masters, both in criminal justice, from the University of Toledo

Smith’s goal is first to learn how to be a father and, then, relocate and be an active part of his daughter’s life. "That’s something I didn’t have when I was growing up," he adds.

As Lyons views the future, she sees "lots of growth and development" for the Fatherhood Initiative. "I want to expand our partnerships in the community," she says. After four years, the feedback from dads who have been through the program, "has been very positive." The evaluations of the program by the State of Ohio, she notes, have been positive about the impact the Initiative has had on employment, housing and recidivism. The benchmarks that Lucas County uses to evaluate a program have also been positive, she adds.

"Checks and balances are in place to make sure we are not just spending money."

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