The Milwaukee Fatherhood Initiative (MFI) started back in 2006 and the goal is to address, respond to, celebrate, and challenge fathers to get involved, engaged and to stay committed to their children and family. The MFI’s commitment is to make sure Milwaukee’s youth have a strong and healthy life with a caring father to turn toward.
MFI is considered a ‘ one-stop resource’ for fathers concentrating on the following six focus areas: Driver’s License Recovery, Child Support Debt Reduction, Men’s Health, Education/Job Training, Positive Media Campaign, and Annual Summit.
Here are a few important statistics from the MFI Website:
*Although father absence is now an epidemic affecting every class and sector of American society, its prevalence and impact within America’s urban communities is especially acute. At present:
*Twenty-four million, or 34 percent of America’s children, live in a household in which the biological father does not live.
*According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 50 percent of all white children and 75 percent of all black children born in the last two decades are likely to live for some portion of their childhood in a father-absent household.
Resources for Fathers, click here.
To get involved, click here.
I went to the Milwaukee Fatherhood Initiative Offices to speak with Outreach Coordinator Dennis Walton, member of the initiative, Lee Lewis along with his daughter, Lydia Lewis.
Click the podcast below to find out how MFI is keeping Milwaukee fathers and their children, safe, healthy and strong.
