TOLEDO, Ohio — Lucas County non-profit Zepf Center was awarded a five-year $7.5 million grant from U.S. Department of Health and Human Service: Office for Children and Families. The Fatherhood Connection project will impact the community and lives of many family members.
Beginning Thursday, Zepf Center will provide services to 875 fathers over the course of the five-year grant period. This project will focus on serving fathers recovering from substance use disorders or who have past legal issues. It will also provide individual and group interventions that assist the father in developing healthy and loving relationships with their children.
Deb Flores, Zepf Center CEO, states, “It is vital that fathers with children have a variety of intensive and coordinated approaches that will empower low-income fathers and couples to develop skills that help the physical, mental, emotional and financial needs of their children through a holistic service delivery approach. This truly is an amazing opportunity for Zepf Center to coordinate with community partners to help families in Lucas County.”
This project will utilize a 2Gen approach to address generational poverty and will incorporate evidence-based Mobility Mentoring. Further, this project will provide workforce development and job training services that assist the individuals to enter and advance in high-demand career fields.