 |
A commencement ceremony was held Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014, to recognize 32 young men from Mobile County Metro Jail who completed the Fatherhood Initiative's "Inside Out Dad Class" this fall. The course was held over eight weeks for inmates at the local jail. Some of the men who completed the course have left jail but continue to take fatherhood classes at MCHD's Teen Center.
One of the young men has been offered a job by Mobile County. Another is preparing the enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps.
"We hope the program has benefitted you," said Marie Chastang, a director with the Mobile County Health Department, as the beginning of the cememony. "We hope you will become better fathers to your children." Dozens of other inmates attended the graduation, watching as the men in jail scrubs recieved certificates of completion. The men also recieved letters of recommendation from Mobile Police Chief James Barbour. Barbour told the men at the beginning of the class that if they completed it, he would recommend them for jobs and educational opportunities when they left jail.
James Dixon is the program administrator for the Fatherhood Initiative, while Curtis Graves is the program facilitator. The men led the graduation ceremony Tuesday evening. They said their time spent with the men at Mobile County Metro Jail has been invaluable.
"It's been a good journey," Graves said to the inmates. "We shared our life stories. We talked like men. We know this too shall pass. We get back up, dust ourselves off. We man up. We take care of business, being better men and better fathers."
Another Fatherhood Initiative class will begin at the jail in coming weeks. Similar classes are held weekly at the TEEN Center, Chastang said.
No comments:
Post a Comment