Housing Authority puts on Gear Up for Fathers event aimed at youth
With Father’s Day coming up, Housing Authority of Texarkana, Texas, hosted a two-hour Gear Up for Fathers youth session Thursday.
About 10 young people attended, mainly from the Rose Hill Neighborhood, six area leaders promoted responsible fatherhood and addressed issues facing young men today, including gang violence, drug use, dating and courtship, the problems caused by premarital sex and broken homes.
Speakers were Johnny Riley, HATT executive director; Philip Parrish, local program coordinator for Big Brothers Big Sisters; Brandon Stenson, HATT director of residential engagement; Robert Jones, local math professor; Dennis Cook with Texarkana Radio; and Stan Shavers with National Association for the Advancement of Young People.
Riley opened the discussion by talking about snap judgments.
“Today, people will judge you in one24th of a second,” he said. “They judge you on the way you dress.”
Shavers told the audience they have to get involved, step up to the plate and announce themselves, not just let things happen.
“Instead of spending time on social media, be responsible in the world,” Shavers said. “You have to take a position in your role as a man, so listen and learn and take on an understanding of who you are. What do you see in your fathers, stepfathers or guardians that you admire?”
Riley then said that he and his brothers were raised by their single father.
“Dad thought it would be best if his kids stayed with him, but I also spent time with my grandmother and great-grandmother, too, and that helped me a lot,” he said.
Parrish said his experience was different.
“I never got a chance to go to college until I was 24,” he said. “I never met my dad until I was 24. I grew up living with my granddad, and he was a mentor to me and he inspired me.”
Jones said the “key thing in life is to understand that life is tricky, not fair and tough.”
Stenson said the one thing in life they can control is themselves.
“Today, it’s not unusual for kids that are 13 and 14 years old to already be fathers,” he said.
Jones said that there is actually a lot to be interested in and proud of, even when it comes to math.
“You need to learn how to rise to the level of expectation,” he said. “Did you know that mathematics actually started in the caves in Africa? We taught the rest of the world about mathematics, and that’s what led to science and medicine. But you have to do the work—nothing will happen unless you do the work.”
Cook said a lot of young people seem interested in sports or music, but everyone needs a Plan B.
“Every one of you should have a dream and be thinking about where you want to be 25 years from now,” he said. “If all you do is wake up each morning and expect something great to happen, it never will. … You have to put things in place and make dreams happen.”