TOLEDO, Ohio — A Toledo man continues to advocate for fatherhood and the importance of kids having a father in their life.
Mark Robinson grew up without a father in Newark, New Jersey. After graduating from Syracuse University and moving to Toledo in 2003, he recognized a need to help fathers be more responsible and active in their kids' lives.
In 2006, he founded R.E.S.T.O.R.E, a fatherhood advocacy group focused on helping men be better fathers. And in light of the recent rise in violence, he says the work is needed more than ever.
"Every social ill that you can think of can be traced to lack of fathers in the children's lives," said Robinson.
Robinson says many of the fathers he works with grew up without dads themselves.
"I work with the fathers on educating them, find out what their barriers are to being more involved with their children," said Robinson. "I try to help them overcome that."
He added many of the dads are unsure of themselves as parents and tend to believe, like their fathers, they can be aloof from their kids and things will work out. But their absence in their own kids lives can push them toward gangs, drugs, and trouble at school and in the home.
"Without that discipline, mentorship and leadership that fathers have, young boys find that in other places. And often it's the wrong places," Robinson said.
He also works with social agencies and programs to work more with fathers. He says historically the system is geared more toward helping mothers and the children be self-sufficient than helping the father be more active and part of the solution.
"How can you leave out services that are going to help fathers be more responsibly involved?" said Robinson. "All of the services were geared toward helping single mothers stay single mothers."
Before the pandemic, he organized the annual Fatherhood Walk for 10 years in Toledo as well as a campout for dads and kids every summer at Camp Miakonda. He plans to have both events and more back next year.