A Florida Keys group is giving fathers grocery gift cards when they participate in a program that teaches men to be fathers.
Billy Davis, founder and executive director of A Positive Step of Monroe County, which has served Monroe County’s highest risk children and their families since 1999, invites Florida Keys fathers to enroll now in its upcoming Southernmost Fatherhood Initiative.
“Our Southernmost Fatherhood Initiative works with dads, including incarcerated ones, to develop new and better skills in parent, co-parent and child relationships, along with anger management, health and substance abuse awareness,” Davis said, adding that this year’s sessions will be conducted via Zoom due to the pandemic.
Now in its third year, the evidence-based program — meaning it has been tested and validated by educational and social service organizations — will consist of 12 weekly hour-long counseling sessions, and includes additional supportive services, including Commercial Drivers License training offered through Waste Management, and a GED program offered through the Monroe County School District.
“We also provide pre- and post-program testing, so that dads can evaluate their progress from start to finish,” Davis said.
“A Positive Step Monroe County is committed to breaking the cycle of absentee dads, and this is partly accomplished through teaching better skills to men who might not have had a role model — or a good role model — on which to base their own parenting,” he said. The program welcomes court-ordered participants as well as self- and community partner referrals. All participants receive weekly grocery store gift cards and a certificate of completion at the end of the 12-week session.
Davis said he is grateful to the Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida,The Keys Open Door Foundation, the Community Foundation of the Florida Keys, the United Way of the Florida Keys, Key West Sunrise Rotary, and the program’s generous private donors.To enroll, contact Billy Davis at 305-304-1969 or APSMCCRP@aol.com. For more information on A Positive Step of Monroe County, visit APSMC.org.
