James Williams and Keeyon Howard help run the “Focus on Fatherhood” program in Moberly, which is through Randolph County Caring Community Partners and works to improve the well-being of the entire community by investing in fathers.
They have classes that work with high schoolers before they become fathers, young fathers who are 26 and younger, fathers who are involved in the justice system, and more.
They said that while their programs are mostly designed for men who have encountered challenges – men can always learn more about being a better father.
Missouri Health is spending January 2025 speaking with community members in Moberly and Randolph County. If you have a story you'd like to share, contact us at smithbecky@missouri.edu.
James Williams: We started in 2007 with seven guys, and we just decided that this community needed help in fatherhood.
We saw a lot of young fathers around. So, we decided that maybe we could come up with a program that would help the fathers, and so, we came up with the program and we trained again on curriculum called, “Quenching the Father Thirst” is what we started on.
And that program – we actually really thought we were just going to do a couple of classes and that was it, but it continued on and on and on.
And we had a lot of young guys – some had just become fathers, and we had some in our group that were in their 50s and 60s and already were fathers.
But you never stop being a father. It doesn't matter what your age is, the age of your children – you never stop being and some of them just wanted more skills in learning how to become a father.
And one thing we also really challenged them: To become a better father, you first of all had to become a better man.
Keeyon Howard: And it's not just, you know, “Hey, what are you going to do today and tomorrow?” But it's like, “How are we going to transform?”
We're about transformation and not – we're not transactional, we're transformational, right?
So, just building on the necessity of the of the father, you know?
When I first came to Caring Community, and we're, I'm working with the fathers, the overall scope of fatherhood – it was just an overall scope, right?
And from the work that Mr. Williams and the network that they've been able to put together, it was great, you know? But as time goes on, you kind of have to, you have to make shifts, you have to make adjustments.
And I think, we had a prime opportunity, when we begin to work with the prosecuting attorney and the judges here in Randolph County, we were able to have an alternative program. It's called ACES .
ACES is an acronym that means “alternative coordinated essential services,” where some of these young individuals, young men, were facing, you know, some hard times, trials and tribulations, and fell into the justice system.
And when we got the call, you know, we were able to create a diversion program to where these – an alternative program where these young men would, could come into the program and prove that they're not just violent, you know, intentionally, you know, crazed individuals, but these young fathers just need direction and navigation.
And it's not about trying to get them to where you are. It's really about meeting them where they are, assessing them, understanding their desired outcomes, and then helping them navigate.
So, I always say, you know, we're just navigational systems that you guys have access to at any point. We're Siri 4D, you know, not 3D, but we're Siri 4D, right?
Laughter
