By Ronald W. Weathersby
Kenneth Fulson says his life was in turmoil and he had lost his direction and motivation. The 56-year-old native of Benton, Arkansas moved to Nashville in 1986 but the change of venue did not change his life.
“I was incarcerated and I was an addict,” Fulson said in a telephone interview. “I really had no idea what a father was or what a father was supposed to do.”
The father of four children, three grown women and a 14-year-old son, Kenneth, Jr. says he never really had anything to do with raising his children.
“Like too many men I thought taking care of the children was something women do. But my son’s mother has been out of his life since he was five years old. My mother was his guardian and when she became too sick to care for him I became his caregiver.”
Fulson says his brother encouraged him to attend a summit at the Coliseum last summer and there he heard about the New Life Program (NLP) in Nashville which provides fathers with the skills, knowledge and support they need to become more positively involved in the lives of their children.
“My brother went through the Fatherhood Program and said I should check it out. I signed up immediately after attending the summit and the program has changed my life. I had a bunch of problems, a bunch of hurdles I had to overcome. The classes I took in the program helped me get back in touch with many of the things I needed to know including what it means to be a father. I learned that I had to humble myself, accept where I was in life and they gave me the tools to move forward.”
Besides gaining custody of his son, Fulson, who has lost his driver’s license, has since had his driving privileges restored. He has been self-employed for over 25 years but without a license and a vehicle was severely hampered in his attempts to continue his business. Now he says he sees public transportation not as a show of weakness but an opportunity to do what needs to be done.
“I have enrolled my son in school and I deal with his teachers. I make his doctor’s appointments and I take him to them. I am involved in every part of his life.”
He says the Fatherhood Program has helped him “prepare for the future and push forward.”
Fulson said that he would encourage men to look into the Fatherhood program for multiple reasons. “I think the program would benefit black men especially. It teaches you to not allow the negative stereotypes in the media and in the community from keeping you from moving forward. Those of us with histories really need the help. The program will help you tap into your full potential and teaches us to not settle for less. It teaches us that we can be what we need to be and what we want to be.”
Through parenting education, relationship building, life skills training, employment and educational resources, risk reduction case management, economic stability support and mentoring NLP encourages successful fatherhood in an effort to maximize the physical, emotional and academic well-being of their children. The project is currently piloted in North and East Nashville.
For more information about the New Life Project Fatherhood Program call 615-340-8989 or go to http://www.nashville.gov/