Across America, approximately 18.3 million children live without a father in the home, constituting about 1 in 4 U.S. children.
To encourage and support a man’s role in his family, the Women’s Care Center (WCC) in Columbus launched its “Strong Fathers” program in July 2022. The program offers a series of monthly classes with a new topic for each class, ranging from the “Importance of Fathers” to “Dealing with Anger.”
Six fathers from the Columbus St. Catharine Church community, ranging in age from 20 to 60, teach the classes. The WCC provides the curriculum; each volunteer instructor adds his personality and insight.
When the program began in July, Kristina Keiffer, WCC parenting instructor and program adviser, worried that the classroom would be empty. She said that, after so much time and preparation, she “prayed that God would send at least one father to class.”
“Five minutes before class started, the first father showed up,” she recalled. “I had tears coming down my face. Then, one after another kept coming. At the end, 13 men showed up for our very first class.” Since then, the classes have continued to grow.
Because a child’s biological father isn’t always involved, the “Strong Fathers” program is open to any male figure in a child’s life; grandfathers, uncles and cousins have attended the classes.
“I’ve been surprised by the depth of the conversations,” Keiffer said. “I thought that it would be great to have men come and hang out and have community with other men, but it has been so much more than that. We have had men leave in tears. One of the instructors pointed out that men have wounds, too.”
WCC’s female clients have said that they have seen a change in their parenting partnership with the baby’s father in terms of discipline, structure and communication. They also said that the “Strong Fathers” program has become a comfortable place for participants to talk about things that they normally wouldn’t discuss with other men.
In October 2022, The Catholic Foundation approved a $3,000 grant for the program, so the WCC can provide a meal at every class and a gift for the fathers to take home to the child’s mother.
And, in summer 2023, WCC will host an outing so that the male program participants, their children and the instructors’ families can spend time together.
Following are quotes from “Strong Fathers” instructors about the program:
“What a joy and a privilege it is for me to help mentor the dads in the WCC ‘Strong Fathers’ program. These men want to be virtuous fathers who invest in their children’s lives with love, mercy and appropriate discipline. They truly are answering God’s call to greatness!” – Matt
“It was a tremendous blessing to work alongside these men who are seeking to better the lives of their children by investing in learning and growing as fathers. Witnessing their desire and effort encouraged me a great deal in my own vocation. I pray they took away as much good from participating in the ‘Strong Fathers’ program as I did in helping to facilitate it.” – Nick
“‘Strong Fathers’ is a platform perfectly suited to remind men who they were created to be, while working to equip them to go back into their families and live it out. This is beautiful work I am grateful to be a part of.” – Eric
“I feel very fortunate to be a part of the ‘Strong Fathers’ program. Unfortunately, a lot of men don’t have other men to talk to about fatherhood. It’s easy to feel like maybe you’re the only one struggling to balance family, work and life’s other demands, which can make it that much harder to take a breath, prioritize and be the best man you can be.
“Our society doesn’t always encourage men to be good fathers, when that is one of the things the world needs the most. By encouraging the men in the program to answer that call, I have no doubt that these fathers can (and will) make a huge impact in the lives of their families and the community.” – Erik
The WCC is grateful for support from the Columbus community, which has enabled the center to stretch its services to the whole family. Through “Strong Fathers,” the mission is for every man to recognize that it’s never too late to start being a strong father. Investment in children at any age can be life-changing.