On Oct. 15 and 16, the Milwaukee Fatherhood Initiative and the Milwaukee Black Health Coalition, along with student organization, The Truth Society, held the Milwaukee Fatherhood Forums at the Downtown Milwaukee campus.
The forums were part of an ongoing series, focused on getting answers for men of all ages and ethnicities who are currently fathers or are expecting to be a father.
They addressed questions regarding child support, custody, visitation rights, and any other concerns regarding fatherhood.The goals were to help men become more committed, involved, and responsible around their children, as well as to address a number of issues affecting men who are already trying to support their family.
Although the forum was opened to all comers, the attendance for two days stood at around 13 people. The timing could’ve been to blame for the low attendance, as it was held the same time as mid-term exams. Regardless of lack of attendance; however, Dennis Walton, outreach coordinator for the Milwaukee Fatherhood Initiative and Jim Addison, Family Fatherhood coordinator for the Black Health Organization aren’t going to stop trying to spread their message. As far as they’re concerned, this is the most important message African-American males need to hear in order to improve the state of their community.
Walton spoke on some of the hurdles he sees African-American men encounter on a daily basis, specifically regarding fatherhood. “Racism is a strong component in our community. It is hidden in so many different forms and creates obstacles; but there’s also internal racism that exists from years and years of being bombarded with negative messages which have plagued the community,” said Walton. “We feel that a lot of the reason for the condition of our community is a lack of support for fatherhood. If we can restore those values and put resources in place to help men, we feel that our communities will change big time.” Walton feels that fatherhood is the “Jenga piece” that could make a large number of compounded issues fall that are currently facing the African-American community in Milwaukee.
Walton also knows there isn’t one easy solution. “It’s a vast issue that we’re learning about every day, but one of the things I’ve learned from being a father and working with other fathers is that being a father is something you have to get better and better at every day. You don’t just be the best father there is. You have to be prepared to make adjustments,” stated Walton.
There’s a fine line between helping and enabling; however, and one of the main challenges for an organization such as this is drawing that line. Addison says, “The helping hand is not going to be a given. We’ve had situations where we went to help a person and we couldn’t because that person wasn’t ready to be helped. Where the situation can be helped, we are 100 percent advocates, but in that situation where we’re trying to get people to make the right improvements and someone is unwilling to do that, we’ll say, ‘You know what? We’re going to step back from this case until this individual is willing to do what they need to do.’”
Addison answered to the importance of an event such as the Fatherhood Summit by saying, “We’re trying to help people know the system, cooperate with the system to the extent possible and not give the system anything that would help trip them up. If you see a trap, don’t just walk right into it.”
It is unsure at this point when the next summit will take place. For more information or to get involved, speak to anyone affiliated with The Truth Society.