(Posted 2024 May)
It’s National Fatherhood Month in June, a time to reflect on the positive impact fathers make in the lives of their children. A Fairfax County Board of Supervisors proclamation is planned to coincide with the Annual Father’s Matter Cookout on June 22, 2024. The work of the county in recognizing and engaging fathers is year-round!
Fairfax County Department of Family Services’ Children, Youth, and Families Division and other local human services agencies promote father engagement as a significant part of a supportive family system. The positive involvement of all parents helps to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children.
In order to provide more robust support to fathers in Fairfax County, DFS’s Father Engagement Unit partners with individuals and community organizations to positively impact youth and families. One such organization is The Psi Alpha Alpha Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
Male mentoring as a mission
As a response to President Obama’s Fatherhood and Mentoring Initiative in 2009, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. was one of the first fraternal organizations to encourage its chapters to incorporate father mentoring into its established youth mentoring programs and made it a mandatory program initiative at its 2022 National Convention.
Since that initial push, chapters have partnered with churches, state and local government agencies, or developed their own programs to address the negative stereotypes attached to Black fathers. The organization’s goals include celebrating the importance of fathers as a critical part of the family dynamic, providing an educational foundation for fathers to understand their emotions and how trauma they experienced in their past could have a tremendous impact on how they parent, and developing and fostering new skill sets that fathers can use to successfully parent their children.
The fraternity’s Fatherhood Initiative program strategically partners with organizations such as the DFS Father Engagement Unit to mentor young fathers and fathers in need of support services to assist them in being stronger fathers to their families and children.
Volunteer Mentors Make a Difference
Omega Psi Phi member James Cherry is a longtime mentor with the Dads Parenting Groups offered by the Fatherhood Engagement Unit. Cherry said, “I love the level of transparency the fathers display, and I am always proud to see the emotional support they gave each other and their commitment to do the work needed for continuous progression."
Bennie Herron, FEU Supervisor said, “Being a father is not a box one can just check off as being complete; it is a lifelong commitment of working to provide the optimal environment for your children so they can grow up to be the absolute best version of themselves.”
The fabulous mentors who support the Father Engagement Unit’s programs help dads to embrace that. If you are a committed father or father figure interested in helping to facilitate the Dads Parenting Groups, apply now to volunteer or visit our website for more information.
This article posting is part of The Volunteer Post Newsletter for current and potential volunteers, sponsors and donors interested in supporting children and families in crisis. Learn more about Fairfax County Department of Family Services' Volunteer & Partner Services Program (VPS).