Our History

Fathers, Families, and Healthy Communities initiated its work in 2002 as a Consortium housed at DePaul University. The FFHC consortium was a working group of social service and community development practitioners; applied researchers and academics; and public policy experts. With seed funding from the Chicago Community Trust and Open Society Foundation, the FFHC Demonstration project was launched in 2011. The FFHC Demonstration Project’s main objective was to develop a comprehensive service delivery system for Black non-custodial fathers. In June 2014, FFHC attained its 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status and became an independent non-profit organization.

Serving Fathers, Transforming Communities

Our main organizational objective is to strengthen families by supporting low-income men in their desire to be better fathers.

Fathers receive not only access to peer-support groups, but also sector-driven job training and placement, legal aid, advanced education, parent engagement workshops, leadership training and development, and skill-building services.

Since our inception, the agency has served fathers throughout the Chicagoland area. Moreover, we believes that Black fathers are assets to their families and are key to creating safe and stable communities.

We make a difference through leadership development, grassroots organizing, and policy transformation. For example, with the Sargent Shiver National Center on Poverty Law, and Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI), FFHC led advocacy for the passage of Illinois Senate Bill 2340. This bill increased the amount of monthly child support payments children in TANF families received from non-custodial parents, who are overwhelmingly low-income Black fathers.

It has been estimated that SB2340 affected 22,486 TANF cases, amounting to 58,743 persons whose lives were positively impacted because of this legislation being enacted. The passage of this bill did not only positively impact FFHC fathers and families, but all of Illinois. We are focused on dismantling systemic racism through policy transformations that positively impacts low-income Black fathers, their families, and communities.

Policy and Advocacy

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Impact

Since 2002, Fathers, Families, and Healthy Communities has served over 500 Black fathers in communities across Chicago. We are proud of its efforts in supporting low-income men, of all ages, to become leaders and advocates in their communities, while developing the requisite skills to foster nurturing relationships with their children.

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