InvolvedDad aims to strengthen Flint-area families by helping men to become engaged fathers
When Shon Hart looks back on his childhood, he knows there are two key aspects that changed his life forever — the murder of his brother in 1994 and the strained relationship with his father.
As an adult, Hart didn’t realize — or didn’t want to admit — he was living with trauma. It wasn’t until he was working as a prison chaplain for the Michigan Department of Corrections that he really understood how his past affected him.
“It was an inmate who called it out. He said that I was teaching and helping them from a place of pain, and I didn’t realize that my relationship with my father had such a huge impact on me,” Hart said. “And so, that’s when I began to help these men and then start helping myself.”
He knew he wanted to turn his trauma into something positive. In 2015, he launched the nonprofit organization InvolvedDad, which aims to empower men to be engaged fathers by providing training, coaching and peer support. The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation has granted $80,000 since 2022 to help support this mission.
Originally from New Jersey, Hart attended college at Michigan State University and was a defensive back on the football team. Football consumed his life, but he had to figure out what to do next when he graduated. He opened a clothing store in Lansing, Michigan, in 2003, but when it closed five years later, he struggled to find his purpose.
After he began working with the Department of Corrections, he felt a calling to help men struggling with fatherhood and children experiencing fatherlessness.
“I saw so many incarcerated men who had the same story regardless of if they were Black, white, Hispanic, rich or poor. Most of them had the same story, as most of them didn’t know their father or weren’t raised by their father,” Hart said. “That’s how I came up with the name of InvolvedDad. Fatherlessness impacts us all, and so I wanted to solve a problem.”
Hart originally started holding group meetings with fathers at a local coffee shop. In 2015, Hart’s wife, Leah, had a class assignment to write a grant application while working toward her master’s degree. They used the assignment to apply for InvolvedDad’s first grant.
Shortly after, Hart started the Impact Program, a year-long program aimed at helping fathers remove barriers to reengaging with their children, which often includes helping participants catch up on child support.
Over time, the program began to evolve. Hart focused on creating a safe space for fathers to bring their children, offering quality time in a neutral location. There was space for them to play and hang out. They would also have access to a pop-up school and other needed resources.
The Impact Program eventually turned into a 15-week program, with 15 to 20 fathers in each cohort. After they graduate, the men can go into an eight-week leadership program called Lead, which offers an opportunity for them to become future mentors and facilitators.
Ripple effect of change
Ian Agee enrolled in the Impact Program in 2020. He found himself behind on child support for his oldest daughter and struggling to have a relationship with her.
“At first, I’m like, ‘Yeah, let me let me see what InvolvedDad can do to help.’ But so many other things have developed from that,” Agee said. “It was about strengthening my family, witnessing all these other men that Shon’s helped, listening to their stories and the camaraderie. It wasn’t just strengthening families but strengthening individuals.”
Going through the program also helped Agee to open up and talk about his life with others, which has helped him become a better parent and communicator, he said.
“You’re around other fathers who can relate to what you’re going through. I’ve learned a lot about where I could do better,” Agee said. “Your children need both parents, and that’s what this is really all about because a lot of us lacked fathers growing up.
“Communication with my daughter was hard at first, but it is so much better now. It wasn’t a smooth process, but I think she started to understand my intentions. I’m not perfect, never will be perfect, but my intentions are to be the best version of myself I can be.”
Agee is now part of the leadership class, and he considers it an honor to help other fathers.
“I see these men being affected by this program,” Agee said. “Fathers are hungry to be in their children’s lives and are taking action. It takes a village. It takes time.”
More than 50 fathers go through the Impact Program each year, and Hart said helping those 50 fathers has a positive effect on a much wider circle of people.
“The reason it’s so important to have strong fathers is — number one — that child. It helps develop self-confidence. My mom was super dope, but a father brings a different way of parenting and assurance. It reduces [the chance of] my children or other children becoming a statistic,” Hart said. “It’s a ripple effect, and that’s why I say strong fathers create strong families, and strong families create strong communities. When you have strong families in the community, they help bring stability and safety and peace and love in that community.”
InvolvedDad has grown over the years to focus on how to strengthen the co-parenting unit, which includes connecting with mothers to learn more about the challenges they face and what is needed to help them succeed as co-parents. The organization also has hosted community events to help encourage mothers raising young boys and help fathers know how to do their daughters’ hair.
Staff and volunteers at InvolvedDad include lawyers, counselors, mentors and coaches who can help families with a variety of challenges they may face.
Come together as a family
Mario Boone has always had a good relationship with his five sons, but when he found himself unemployed, he was struggling to keep up on his child support payments. That caused him to have a strained relationship with his sons’ mother. He knew he needed to make some changes, and that’s how he found InvolvedDad five years ago.
“I got the letter from Friend of the Court in the mail, and I was kind of scared about it. But I took a chance to see how InvolvedDad could help,” Boone said. “I came to the Impact Program very transparent, and everyone made me feel very welcome. Shon gave us a lot of tools to use, and it motivated me to want to provide myself and my kids more.”
Boone has been a school bus driver for more than four years now, and that was just one of the benefits he found by putting himself out there to ask for help.
“It was a program set up to help me keep me out of jail, you know, and get me on the straight path with the Friend of the Court and my kids’ mother on the financial situation. But it did more than that,” Boone said. “It taught me how to bridge the gap. It’s not just about the money. It’s about the kids. So whatever I had to do to sacrifice to make sure they were alright, I did it. My kids are my motivation and my inspiration.”
Boone speaks highly of the staff at InvolvedDad. He has utilized help from a therapist and a lawyer during his time in the program. Even more important, he said, he has learned to be a better dad.
“No one forces you to come here. So that’s what makes the group so authentic. These men take time out, and you’re able to pour out whatever you got to pour out. And we hold you up to the best of our ability,” Boone said. “We collectively come together as a family.”
And like Agee, Boone is now part of the leadership program and a mentor to other fathers who come through the program.
“It’s life-changing to be able to be a mentor, to be able to coach and help others move forward,” Boone said, adding that he encourages any father struggling to consider participating in the Impact Program. “Thank me later, you will not regret it. I’ve seen so many different brothers come through this group and create friendships, and it motivates you to want to do better.”
Learn more at InvolvedDad.org and watch for upcoming events and programs on the organization’s Facebook page.