By Ronald W. Weathersby
Henderson Kelly, Jr. was in a court fight for custody of his 11-year-old son, Henderson, III when he notice a pamphlet outside the courtroom at the juvenile justice facility in Nashville. He says the information he got that day changed his life.
“I read the information about the Fatherhood Program and decided why not,” the 44-year-old Nashville native said in a telephone interview. “I volunteered to go into the program and it changed my life.”
Kelly said the counselors at the program have assisted him to become a better father and to deal with his custody fight in a more positive manner.
“Since I went through the program I have retained full custody of my son. I know I can communicate with my son today and I have the ability to teach him how to grow up as a man. The program also helped me grow personally.”
New Life Program (NLP) sponsors the Fatherhood Program which provides parenting education, relationship building, life skills training, employment and educational resources, risk reduction case management, economic stability support and mentoring in order to encourage successful fatherhood, and maximize the physical, emotional and academic well-being of their children for men in Nashville.
The federally funded initiative of the Obama Administration seeks to address the growing instability of families in Davidson County where there are 22,829 households led by single mothers with children under the age of 18. A large number of these homes are in North and East Nashville where the program is centered. Only 12 percent of the married couples are living below the poverty line while 49 percent of the single mothers live below the poverty line. According to the federal government, Nashville spends nearly $830 million annually on social service programs supporting the father absent households.
Kelly said the patience and communication skills he learned at NLP were a great assist to him as he traversed the juvenile court system. His anger towards his son’s mother turned to positive energy in his quest to get custody. Now he says with his son with him he believes he is a better man and better father.
“My relationship (with Henderson, III) was OK before but I wasn’t sharing my life with him due to my relationship with his mother. But I learned to think before I acted, remember what my goals where and not to let emotions and anger keep me from doing what I know I need to do. Now everything in my life is better.”
Kelly’s story is one of the successful interventions into a man’s life in the city by NLF. He highly recommends the program to young men and older men like himself.
“The program is tremendous. The counselors are friendly and very helpful. I think people should check it out. It will assist you and guide you in the right direction. The program assists you do the right thing in the right way. It will help you think about your choices before you act. That is so important especially for younger people.”
If you are interested in NLP’s Fatherhood Program or would like to refer an individual to the program call 615-340-8989.