HPP’s Fatherhood Initiative receives the spotlight in San Francisco State University Health Equity Institute’s documentary, The Long Way Home. Led by HPP Case Managers Joey Cordero and Eli Parson the initiative aims to educate, empower and reunify fathers with their families.
As incarceration rates, poverty and violence in urban areas increase so does the number of absent fathers. The long-term trauma for families and communities of missing fathers has been misunderstood by the public and has received little attention by policymakers. Fathers themselves often don’t know that they too have rights, even as their chances to ensure housing and food security for their families are curtailed by poverty.
THE LONG WAY HOME explores how involvement and positive support from service providers is critical in protecting family unity and paternal involvement for low-income families. It illustrates the value and need of support systems for fathers to understand their rights, gain strength, to learn to advocate for themselves and to learn about fathering from other fathers.
The goal of the film is to increase policy, institutional, community and family support for more positive participation by fathers living in low-income communities. HPP is proud to partner with the SFSU Health Equity Institute in telling personal stories as a tool for education and advocacy.