THE BENEFITS
10 REASONS TO work with LIFI
1. You’ll get the skills you need to be a better father.
By working with the Long Island Fatherhood Initiative, you’ll have the opportunity to enroll in a series of fatherhood workshops developed by National Fatherhood Initiative. These sessions are designed for dads of all ages, to help men like you improve their parenting skills and fathering knowledge. Over your 4-8 weeks in the program, you’ll learn the how to become a better father through focusing on areas such as:
2. You'll get paid.
In addition to the valuable life skills in our fatherhood workshops, participants in the program will also receive financial incentives as a reward for your time. Those who complete the 24/7 Dad program are eligible for more than $200 in Wal-Mart gift cards, which are given out for attending sessions, completing training and participating in evaluations of our curriculum.
3. You'll become a better you.
LIFI is devoted not just to helping you be better parent, but also to become a better man — inside and out. From discussing the ideal traits of a father to handling your emotions. From exploring the benefits of marriage, to discovering healthy ways to discipline children, our 24/7 Dad program covers it all. You'll be able to use the tactics and knowledge learned here to improve your physical and mental health and become a better version of yourself.
4. We’ll help you get a good job.
Providing for your family is key to being a good father and LIFI will help to ensure you have the economic stability support you need to secure and hold down a solid job. Your case manager will work with employment services to find the right part-time or full-time position for you, while also working with you to build your skills and self-confidence in resume building, budgeting and job readiness training.
5. We can give you the financial support you need.
While you’re in our program, LIFI will help you with costs related to getting you back on your feet. We provide financial participation support for items needed for economic stability such as, work boots, uniforms and tools, registration fees for programs like GED preparation and vocational trainings and documentation like New York State ID, social security cards and birth certificates.
6. We can help you see your kids more often.
Have limited time to see your kids? We can help you get more time with your children. When you complete our 24/7 Dads workshop, you’ll receive a Certificate of Completion and upon request, we can provide participation letters to present in court while you are completing your parenting class. Our case managers can also help advocate on your behalf when it comes to visitation and custody agreements.
7. We’ll help you get around.
During your time with LIFI we can help you get around. Our case managers will provide support in the form transportation assistance — such as metro cards, bus passes and gas cards — to help you get to workshops, case management appointments, employment related needs, health needs (doctor’s appointments), child visitation, court appointments and more.
9. Your relationships will improve.
The knowledge you gain while in 24/7 Dads program won’t just improve your relationship with your children. Using those skills will improve your relationship with your partner, extended family members, friends, co-workers, employers and the mother of your children.
10. You'll build lifelong friendships.
Working with LIFI can be a life-changing experience. During your time in our program you'll learn to look at yourself, your relationships and your life in a whole different way. But you won't do it alone. Whether it's our case managers, our facilitators or the other dads in your workshop, you'll be surrounded by people who want to see you succeed. As you grow and go through the process of bettering yourself, you'll build bonds that can last a lifetime and once you graduate you'll join a community of other LIFI graduates and success stories.