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SECOND FRONT THE ITEM
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2013 Contact the newsroom at 803-774-1226 or e-mail news@theitem.com
Lee volunteers help fathers be their best BY RANDY BURNS Special to The Item BISHOPVILLE — A group of Lee County volunteers is partnering with the Department of Social Services to help parents — mostly fathers — build healthy relationships with their families. The Fatherhood and Families Engagement Program, one of the seven programs of the South Carolina Fatherhood Initiative, was established as a ministry of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine. It began in Lee County in October 2012 and has program sites in Florence, Darlington, Marion, Sumter and Lee counties. The Lee County volunteer group, led by program director Sam Joye, currently serves 35 Lee County parents, including three mothers. The group’s caseload is determined by DSS and family court judges, Joye said. “All of our cases are parents who are not able to pay child support because they don’t have a job or any way to pay,”
SEND DONATIONS TO: Lee County Fatherhood and Families Engagement Program 123 S. Nettles St. P.O. Box 1264 Bishopville, SC 29010 CONTACT: (803) 483-1300
Joye said. “A lot of them come in with the attitude that the whole system is against them. They think they have nobody on their side. We tell them that they made the decision to become parents, and they have a responsibility to that child. We have to change their mindset.” The father typically is given six months by the judge to work with the Fatherhood Initiative and its volunteer life coaches to be trained, employed and responsible, Joye said. Eva Durant, one of the program’s volunteer life coaches, said typically three months are enough to help the fathers “get on the right track.” “I work with this program
because I see the needs the children have,” she said. “They are not getting what they need. What we have really is kids having kids. I see all of them as my kids. And when they enter the court system, we don’t think they belong in jail. They just need a helping hand.” The volunteer life coaches help their clients find the training and education they need to find employment. The fathers in the program tend to have high rates of unemployment, low educational levels, high rates of incarceration and very little civic engagement. The program seeks to equip fathers with knowledge and skills to help them become productive and self-sufficient men — establishing their position in the workplace, in the lives of their children and families, and as responsible community members. Joye, Durant and volunteer life coaches Donnie Moses, Pat Carter, Mattie Westry, George Williams and Jacobee Pratt are trained and supported by Fa-
therhood Initiative staff members Roger Gore and David Morrisey, headquartered in Florence. The South Carolina Fatherhood Initiative program receives funding from the S.C. Department of Social Services, the Sisters of Charity Foundation, the South Carolina General Assembly, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the South Carolina BAR Foundation, various private foundations and private donors. However, very little of the funding is directed to expenses incurred in Lee County. “Roger makes us account for every dollar we spend,” Joye said. However, there are few dollars to spend for gas mileage, supplies and equipment. As program director, Joye is able to receive gas mileage compensation, but the other life coaches receive no reimbursement. Lee County’s fatherhood initiative team is headquartered in office space adjacent to Bryant’s Printing on Nettles Street.
“We have to pay the light bill,” Joye said. “And we have other operational expenses. We need donations. ... We just received a donation from (Lee County Councilman) David Addison. And he challenges others to come forward.” Despite the struggles, Lee County’s program volunteers said they continue because of the importance of their work. While the fatherhood initiative works to provide parents with the skills needed to provide for their children, the need goes beyond making that child support payment, said Joye, a retired truck driver of 30 years. “They (fathers) need to get involved with their child,” he said. After a few months with the initiative, Joye said, “I’m finding the fathers need a role model. They need to have somebody they can look up to. And most of them know me. I’ve been here all my life. They know me. And I think that gives me an advantage when it comes to helping them.”
LOCAL BRIEF
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From staff reports
BATES MIDDLE SCHOOL KICKS OFF COAT DRIVE
Man faces armed robbery, attempted murder charges
ROBERT J. BAKER / THE ITEM
Sumter School District officials welcome Salvation Army Director Robbie Robbins, far right, on Thursday at Bates Middle School to kick off the district’s coat drive, which will be held throughout the winter at all of the district’s 29 schools. Assistant to the Superintendent Amy Hansen, far left, said Bates was chosen for the kick-off because of its “gung-ho” attitude when told about the coat drive. Also pictured are Bates Principal Ayesha Hunter, second from left; Trevor Ivey, chairman of the Teachers’ Forum for the school district and assistant principal at Alice Drive Middle School, center; and Bates Assistant Principal Gary Bettinger, second from right. Hansen said students, teachers, parents and community may donate any types of clothing to the drive, including coats, shirts and other cold-weather attire.
A Wedgefield man is in jail facing several felony charges after police said that same man called someone to his home and then attempted to rob the person he called. Joshua Allen Lawson, 21, of 6110 Phoenix Court, Wedgefield, is charged with armed robbery and attempted murder. About 6:24 p.m. Friday, Lawson reportedly called the victim and asked him to pick Lawson up at his home for a ride. But when the man arrived, Lawson and another LAWSON unknown suspect reportedly approached him in the yard. The other suspect reportedly pulled a revolver on the victim before the men pulled the driver out of the vehicle and took his wallet. As the victim drove away from the scene, shots were reportedly fired at the car, striking the rear windshield and passenger-side door. When law enforcement were directed to Lawson’s home, he was reportedly still there. He was taken into custody and transported to Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center.
Ministry needs your home-baked cookies Kairos takes treats to correctional institution as part of program BY JADE ANDERSON janderson@theitem.com The local Kairos ministry will be going to Lee Correctional Institution the first weekend of October, but first it needs some help. The 30-member team is seeking a donation of between 4,000 and 7,000 dozen cookies, preferably homemade. “It lets them know somebody loves them,” said Richard Boisvert. “We do accept bought cookies, but we prefer homemade because they are a lot more effective.” Started in the 1970s in Florida, the interdenominational prison ministry — whose Greek name means “God’s special time” — made its way to the tri-county area in 1983. Boisvert was on the original
steering committee. The group goes twice a year for “street weekends” such as this one. The other usually takes place in May. Even though only 30 residents — the organization’s preferred name for the inmates — will go through the actual program, everyone in the facility, from the residents to the guards, gets a container of cookies each day. With more than 1,600 men currently incarcerated at the facility, that is a lot of cookies, Boisvert said. When the program started in Florida, the first group of participants got beaten up for being treated special. The members of that Kairos prayed, and the answer was cookies for everyone. “It solved the problem,” Sherry Amerson-Jackson said.
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“There was no more jealousy.” There are 10 talks during the program with topics such as “Friendship with God,” “The Church” and “You Are Not Alone.” Residents and street ministers sit together at tables. Along with eating together, they meditate on and discuss the talks. There are also singing and poster creations, which the residents really get into, Boisvert said. They often have encouraging posters sent from around the world and placemats created by children in local churches as well. “A lot of them come for the food initially, but then they see how we treat them like Jesus,” Boisvert said. “The table servant asks ‘Would you like more? Is there a special cookie I can get you?’ A lot of them
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have never experienced that kind of TLC. As time goes on, they get involved in the talks and become part of the program. By Saturday, they want hugs.” The “love in action” is also what helps draw the residents back to the monthly “reunion weekends,” where the Kairos team meets with small groups of men who have been through the program for fellowship, food, testimonials, singing and prayer. Boisvert credits this follow-up for a majority of the program’s effectiveness, he said. But it isn’t just the residents who get something out of Kairos. “We get so much more out of it,” she said. “It forces us to grow and break down barriers.”
WANT TO HELP? • 4,000 to 7,000 dozen cookies are wanted, preferably homemade, packaged in containers with no foil. • Deadline is Wednesday. • Deliver cookies to St. Jude Catholic Church, 611 W. Oakland Ave., Sumter. • Office hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. • For more information, contact Richard Boisvert at (803) 406-0653.
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