Father’s Day is fast approaching, and we wanted to take the time to highlight the Nurturing Fathers Program that we’ve been running over the past 10 weeks. Our goal is to provide support in a peer group setting to fathers, who are often underappreciated. Oftentimes, boys receive mixed messaging about what fatherhood entails. Take, for instance, the portrayal of mothers vs. fathers in sitcoms and television; most often, mothers are celebrated and credited for raising the children. Even when we look at our own culture: during Mother’s Day women are given roses at restaurants and offered respite from their copious responsibilities through pampering and gift-giving. During the weeks leading up to Father’s Day, advertisements highlight power tools and outdoor essentials like grills and lawn mowers. Rather than giving fathers a day of celebration and relaxation, the atmosphere around Father’s Day is to do more work: mow the lawn and grill up some ‘dogs and burgers for the family.

The Nurturing Fathers Program offers a safe space for men to open up, support each other, and get a better perspective on fatherhood. Our own Raychelle, Case Manager, and Marc, Residential Manager at our Cambridge congregates, have been facilitating this program over the past few months and built a strong relationship with the men who’ve been attending. We encourage all fathers to attend, to go on this journey and explore their own childhood, how they were raised, and discover the role that fathers play in their children’s lives. Marc says the program is designed to teach parenting and nurturing skills. He says, “It is also a way for the men in our program to network and to know that they are not alone.”

“The group can be very emotional at times, especially when they have to go back and think about their past. All of the attendees love the group and ask why we didn’t start sooner! We ask each individual to share information about their past and present at their own comfort level, but often because it is all men they feel safe and open to share. We always end with a group hug,” Marc explains.

Raychelle adds, “Nurturing Fathers isn’t a group that teaches fathers how to be nurturing; they already come with that innately. Nurturing Fathers tends to further along their nurturing process. Through the program, our dads have the freedom to hone in and identify crucial aspects of fatherhood that may be intimately challenging, and process them as a cohesive group that supports one another. Nurturing Fathers is a way for dads to share ideas and concerns as well as stories of triumph and success.”

Every week, fathers are encouraged to bring their children along with them. While the fathers participate in the program, their children have the opportunity to enjoy therapeutic play with staff and interns. Living in shelter can be harrowing and we want to provide everyone with the opportunity to learn and grow while also preparing them for the rigors of life after shelter. Groups like the Nurturing Fathers Program provide one more level of support from peers. Meeting every week helps create more stability and security.

At the end of this 13-week series, the fathers will participate in a graduation celebration with a guest speaker from the Department of Community and Housing Development. Friends and family will be invited to join the celebration. As Father’s Day approaches, be sure to celebrate fathers and father-figures, and appreciate the impact they’ve made on your life.

The weather is starting to turn towards spring, but just a couple of weeks ago, we had one of those bitter cold New England weekends. For most of us, we are able to turn up the heat and stay sheltered from the weather. Especially on days like those, I think about how tough it must be if you don’t have easy access to things some of us take for granted– proper clothes, ability to pay the oil bill, a roof over your head. I remember how fortunate I am to be able to wait out the winter freeze in a home I call my own. I am also reminded how fortunate we all are that there are many others who help those who do not have that luxury.

Hildebrand is one of those others – an organization that works with families experiencing homelessness. Their vision, to ensure that every family has a home, is embodied by the day-to-day work that they do to help families move towards sustainable, permanent housing. They work with and in our community to help others get in out of the cold permanently.

I became involved with Hildebrand through a local church where I was a member. Hildebrand has its roots in the St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church in Cambridge and they embrace that history by maintaining ties with local churches as well as other community-based organizations. The Executive Director at the time was starting a new program to help families maintain housing stability, additional support to keep families in homes once they found a place to transition. I didn’t know a lot about Hildebrand at the time, but I believed then and now that community engagement is critical to the success of all its constituents. I could see that Hildebrand was leveraging that idea and wanted to be a part of it.

I have since learned firsthand about Hildebrand and its commitment to the community and the clients they serve as I have served on the board of directors for 7 years. It is energizing to be part of an organization that is emerging as a leader in the complex world of homelessness. Hildebrand is continuously striving to understand the changing environment, find relevant and feasible solutions to the challenges families face, and, most importantly, to have a vision of how the future could look. With a new Chief Executive Officer on board, Shiela Y. Moore, and an incredibly dedicated staff, it is hard not to have enthusiasm for what they do. Listen to any staff member excitedly talk about a family who moved into an apartment, the father’s nurturing program, or delivering turkeys before Thanksgiving, and you cannot help but be impressed by the enthusiasm and great work of the staff. The staff and the families they serve do not always have easy days. The obstacles they face are numerous. Knowing the landscape of housing and what it takes to support a family and to identify and maintain stable permanent housing is quite an undertaking.

The face of homelessness is changing; we are seeing more families and more young people entering the system and re-entering the system. Globally, many more families are being displaced and homeless without adequate refuge due to civil unrest. Every community is facing the challenge of ensuring basic needs for all its constituents. We will need more community-based efforts to make it happen. We will need organizations like Hildebrand to continue to grow and lead the way in finding the right solutions to solve the homeless dilemma.

This winter, most of us have a warm place to wait out the cold; Hildebrand’s vision is that every family has that comfort. Please check out their website or reach out if you want to learn more.

An Internship works twofold – (1) it is an opportunity for someone to gain experience working in their desired field and (2) the organization benefits from an additional teammate who’s passionate and willing to learn and contribute new ideas. Since September, Linda Jeong, a graduate student at Boston College, has been interning in our programs department under the supervision of Lyndsey McMahan, Assistant Director of Programs. A little over halfway through her internship, Linda has become an invaluable member of our team.

As part of her Masters of Social Work program at BC, Linda is required to do a field practicum. “MSW students are able to get placed at any agency of their choice based on their experience and goals. Each student within the program learn[s] basic knowledge, skills, and values during their classes and appl[ies] it to the field,” Linda writes. For Linda, like many others in the field of Social Work, there is no such thing as a typical day at work; “Since October, I have been working with two different families who have different needs.” One of those families was recently placed in affordable housing in San Antonio, TX.

She continues, “Each day required different tasks, such as looking for apartments who accepted Section 8, contacting San Antonio Housing Authority for a voucher extension, and finding a way to actually get her there. Once we got a unit, we had to apply for HomeBASE, which is a household assistance programs that assists with moving…start-up costs, and household items. From there, I contacted many different vendors to ensure that my client was going to have everything she needed to move securely into permanent housing.” An internship with Hildebrand is very hands-on, working directly with clients, other case managers and members of various sectors of the organization, vendors, government agencies, and more; it’s never a dull moment here.

When asked about her favorite part of her internship, she writes, “After being at Hildebrand for about half a year, I think my favorite part … has been the opportunity to go out in the field to do intakes to meet families for the first time, who have either been transferred into our program or have entered shelter for the first time. So far, I’ve been on about 5 intakes and each time has been an amazing learning experience. I’ve been able to hear their stories, assess their needs and strengths, and introduce them to our services. I think that first impressions are very significant to the start of a wonderful client-program relationship. I hope that clients not only feel welcomed and valuable but also empowered to make a difference in their lives with the help and support from Hildebrand.”

Gamu Bere, currently a case manager and soon to be residential manager at a new congregate living program in Dorchester after its completion, said of Linda, “[she’s] been helpful with assisting case managers by with carrying some of our caseloads.” Gamu commends Linda for her work in successfully moving her client to Texas, saying “To be able to successfully accomplish this, I believe Linda was able to utilize excellent organizational skills which include networking, communication and team work.” Mike Short, Program Coordinator, adds, “Linda has been a huge asset to Hildebrand over the past months. She is the first one to volunteer to help out with our donation room, birthday wishes and intakes. Linda’s strong background in Social Work has helped her move on a long stayer client who had been with us since 2014.”

Additionally, Raychelle Burwell, one of our case managers who is studying for her Master’s in Psychology at Cambridge College, is interning under Joy Gallon, LICSW. As part of her internship she is becoming a facilitator for the Nurturing Fathers program and will co-facilitate a group for fathers beginning in April. A new intern, Patille Bingham, starts tomorrow (2/26/2016). She is studying for her Master’s degree in Social Work at Boston University. She’ll be working with a Case Manager with one of the families they provide services to, and will have her work with several Stabilization families. Both Patille and Raychelle will be assisting with the creation and facilitation of therapeutic play workshops for the children. It’s great to see our programs expand through these internship opportunities!

On her advice to incoming interns, Linda says, “Don’t feel nervous, afraid, or embarrassed to ask for help. You are surrounded by very experienced and knowledgeable co-workers who are more than happy to assist you with any questions you may have about your cases, housing or life in general!”