If after leaving prison, a man can successfully re-enter his family, he can successfully re-enter society.
This is the first and greatest hurdle for a father leaving behind prison walls.
The RIDGE Project, a fatherhood program that has partnered with a number of Ohio prisons and faith-based organizations to successfully integrate fathers with their families and communities, is now joining hands with the Avondale Community Pride Center and the Avondale Comprehensive Development Corporation (ACDC) to help.
“Fatherlessness is a chronic disease in our neighborhood,” states Ozie Davis III, executive director of ACDC.
The program offers community members effective training that helps integrates men within their families and supports their efforts to face adult responsibilities through personal development, communication, job skills, readiness training, and even subsidized employment opportunities.
ACDC will provide locations for fathers and families to receive this training and will find at-risk families to participate in the program.
RIDGE’s nationally acclaimed “Keeping FAITH” program emphasizes effective communication between couples and has discovered that most couples lack even basic skills.
Fathers learn to accept responsibility for their actions and prepare to overcome obstacles in their transition back into their homes and communities. Fathers and couples also learn to surround themselves with others who share their goals and hold themselves accountable to new, healthy lifestyles.
The RIDGE Project is the only program developed by a formerly incarcerated father who, with his wife, successfully kept their family together through 15 years of prison time.
Now Ron and Catherine Tijerina, co-executive directors of the RIDGE Project, will work with staff at ACDC to coordinate activities and programming in Avondale to achieve good results with the community’s re-entering fathers and at-risk families.
Do Good:
• Read About: RIDGE’s nationally acclaimed program, “Keeping FAITH."
• See: what the Avondale Comprehensive Development Corporation is doing to improve the lives of
Avondale citizens with thoughtful economic development and the encouragement of arts, culture,
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