“Do something for me, raise your hand if you have a father in your life.” It was another year that had gone by. There I was sitting around the table with the resident mothers of Acres of Hope. As we sat there on the day before Father’s Day, I asked them if their father’s were present in their life. As I looked around for a single hand raised, none revealed itself. The role of a father in the life of a home is priceless. A father reveals security, safety, love, and support.
Consider the daughter who comes home each day experiencing a father’s love and connection. A father who checks in to see how the day has gone. A father who notices when something is off in his child. A father who shows up and reveals that his role as dad is important. Nation wide studies have revealed that homes that have a family with a father in the home produce children that are more likely to finish high school, go to college, and avoid many of the pitfalls of life such as gangs, addiction, early sexual relations. Yet the statistics in homes without a father are often much bleeker. The children from fatherless homes are statistically more likely to be involved in gang activities, addiction, domestic violence, early pregnancies and homelessness.
So once again I bring you back into the room where I asked our residents if they have a father in their lives, and remind you that no hand was raised. Today Acres of Hope is breaking the cycle of homelessness for the mothers and children that have come from broken homes, broken cycles, and fatherlessness. The role of a healthy home, one with a father is priceless. For a father who protects, offers esteem through his encouragement, he often is found to be the provider of the home. He is a security that allows the children to know they can step out into the world with courage.
So I close today’s letter to you with this, Dear Father, you are Important, needed, treasured, and loved. You are a vital part to making sure the next generation walks into life successfully. So whether you are a birth father, an adoptive dad, a mentor stepping in to fill shoes, we are grateful for the example you are setting that shows the upcoming generation how powerful a man can be in their lives.
Today, we honor you and say, Happy Father’s Day.
You are so, so, so, appreciated.
acresofhopeonline.org
