“My idea of fatherhood and manhood changed,” dad Jamal Warren said ofThe Dovetail Project’s impact on his role as a parent.
As the nation’s leading fatherhood initiative, The Dovetail Project teaches young dads between the ages of 17 and 24 how to thrive as parents. Its founder, Sheldon Smith, grew up in poverty without a present father — and hopes the org helps break the heartbreaking cycle for other families.
At the age of 21 in 2009, Smith was on a troublesome path and had already been to jail for armed robbery. But while holding hisnewborndaughter Jada, he panicked and came to a realization.
“I remember it like yesterday,” he says. “I sat in the hospital room and held her, and just talked to her. But in the back of my mind, I was thinking, ‘Man, I might not see her turn 3. I might not see her turn 4. I might not be around when she’s 10.'”
Smith decided to change his life and launch his org to meet an important need. According to Dovetail’s website, children with involved fathers are 80% less likely to spend time in jail, and 75% less likely to become young parents themselves.
“The work that we do, yes, it’s about supporting the dads,” Smith says, “but it’s really about impacting the next generation of children.”
Sheldon Smith with his daughter Jada.Courtesy The Dovetail Project
Since the project’s inception, nearly 600 Black and Latino fathers have graduated from his program.
“We are able to teach the young men three important skills: parenting skills, life skills and felony street law,” Smith explains. “When the fathers complete the program, they receive a job, a GED or a trade, along with a $500 stipend and one year of case management that’s wrapped around it.”
Nicholson says his dad wasn’t there, especially during his teen years. At the age of 18, Nicholson found out that he was becoming a parent himself.
“I was young and dumb and I really wasn’t understanding my role as a father,” he says.
Fortunately, his mother suggested The Dovetail Project.
“When I found out about it, I found out Sheldon’s story as well,” says Nicholson, now a father of two. “I was like, ‘Man. So if he can do it, I can do it. Anybody can do it.'”
The Dovetail Project’s 2021 graduating class.Courtesy The Dovetail Project
In December, Nicholson’s kids — Karlee, 2, and Kylann, 6 months — watched their dad graduate with the project’s 22nd class.
“We were at graduation and you hear his [oldest child] yelling in the background, ‘Daddy, daddy!'” says Smith.
“I loved how my daughter Karlee was yelling for me out there,” says Nicholson. “I knew that she was my No. 1 fan out there rooting for me.”
“The work that we are doing is generational building, it’s legacy work,” he says. “It’s something that’ll last forever.
To learn more about the program and ways you can help, visit The Dovetail Project’s websitehere.
source: people.com
