Statements
Mission
To provide fathers and families with the skills, knowledge and support they need to become more positively involved in the lives of children in order to maximize the overall well-being of Nashville's children.
Background
The New Life Center began in 2010 as the Men's Health Coalition of Middle TN. The organization was awarded a $25,000 mini-grant from the National Fatherhood Initiative to build capacity in the field of father engagement. The experience gained during participation in the capacity program helped the organization to partner with the Metro Public Health Department to apply for the Pathways to Responsible Fatherhood Program grant. The $4.8 million grant was awarded to the Metro Health Department where the New Life Center Executive Director was hired as the program manager. The executive director, Robert Taylor managed the program for 3 years meeting all program objectives. Through the years Robert Taylor has served as a leader and expert on fatherhood issues in the Nashville community with the capacity to manage complex grant programs. The New Life Center is currently working to provide fathers and their families with health information to reduce obesity disparities among African American families. The center is also working with Hillsboro High School families, teaching parenting skills utilizing the Strengthening Families curriculum. The Center also provides free parentage mediations through Metro Nashville Juvenile Courts.
Impact
During the 2017 and 2018 fiscal years The New Life Center has been able to serve approximately 400 men and their families through various programs including our annual Fatherhood Festival in partnership with the Metro Nashville Public Schools and our Training Camp for New Dads program for new and expectant fathers. Goal 1: To increase the proportion of fathers who develop healthy marriage and relationship (M&R) skills as a pathway to responsible fatherhood and healthy marriages. Goal 2: To increase the proportion of fathers who develop responsible parenting skills as a pathway to promoting responsible fatherhood and healthy marriages.Goal 3: To increase the proportion of fathers who develop responsible means for economic stability as a pathway to promoting responsible fatherhood and healthy marriages.Goal 4: To promote responsible fatherhood in Nashville by implementing a community wide campaign that promotes positive images of fathers and their children.
Needs
In Nashville, Davidson County there are approximately 37,148 married couples with children under the age of 18. There are also 23,672 households led by single mothers with children under the age of 18. Only 12% of the married couples were living below the poverty line while 35% of the single mothers were living below the poverty line. Based on the National Fatherhood Initiative Report on the cost of father absence, Nashville spends approximately $788Million on social service programs supporting the 23,672 father absent households. NLP will provide Nashville with an opportunity to reduce these numbers. There are approximately 51,195 Children growing up in single parent households headed by females out of 136,793 total children. This means that approximately 37% of Nashville's children could be growing up without their father. This organization aims to reduce these numbers for future generations. The New Life Center will need approximately $150,000 per 200 families in order to make a significant change in the statistics listed above.Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2015 American Community Survey
Service Categories |
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| Primary Category: | Human Services - Family Services (Adolescent Parents) |
| Secondary Category: | Community Improvement, Capacity Building - |
| Tertiary Category: | Education - |
Areas Served
All of Tennessee with a focus on Nashville, TN and more specifically North Nashville's 37208 and 37218 zip codes.
| TN - Davidson |
| TN |
