Can this Detroit Dad Reduce Crime by Convincing Men to Start Helping Raise Their Children?
Michael Phillips Jr. and Romell Holmes discuss the Fathers First Movement, their Detroit organization encouraging men to be active in their children's lives, from filing for custody and child support to family events like their Father's Day gathering.
About This Episode
Michael Phillips Jr. and Romell Holmes run the Fathers First Movement in Detroit. Their organization works to encourage men to be active participants in their children’s lives. A relatively new group, Fathers First has made great strides very quickly in the Detroit community.
In this uplifting episode, Michael and Romell talk about the need they saw in their community and how they are working to fulfill it. Mike and his guests share advice from their own experiences as fathers. The Fathers First Movement is working hard to put good into this world, hear about their mission in this episode that is guaranteed to make you smile.
Show Notes
- Introducing today’s guests, Michael Phillips Jr. and Romell Holmes of the Fathers First Movement
- Can you tell us about your backgrounds?
- You didn’t grow up in the best neighborhoods, then?
- What was the worst thing you saw as a kid in Detroit?
- Are you both fathers?
- Did you both go through your parents divorcing?
- What is the mission of the Fathers First Movement?
- In your communities, how do Fathers treat their children?
- Is there a racial component to this problem?
- Did you grow up with distant or absent fathers?
- The Fathers First Movement wants to show fathers that being a dad is more than signing paperwork
- A lot of men didn’t have a good role model for fatherhood
- Where do you guys work?
- What do you think about the Fathers First Movement, Kayla?
- The small things can make a kid feel loved
- Can you tell us about your first event?
- Check out the Event Page!
- Michael and Romell have connections in community which helps them get people involved
- Check out the Fathers First Instagram and Facebook!
- Check out their GoFundMe!
- Kayla, what do your friends thing of this? Have you seen an effect?
- Forgiving a father who left would be very difficult
- Mike talks about his experience with his daughters
- Concluding Thank you’s
- Thank you for watching this episode of the Open Mike Podcast!
FAQs
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What is the mission of the Fathers First Movement?
According to Michael Phillips Jr., the mission is to bring men together and be positive, not just with each other but with their kids, through events for men and their children, and to get men to connect and reach out to each other instead of staying apart. Romell Holmes adds that his motive is to show fathers who don’t take care of their kids that having your kid in your life is a beautiful thing.
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What inspired Michael Phillips Jr. and Romell Holmes to start Fathers First?
They say Fathers First started as a conversation in a parking lot and grew from there, and they began taking it seriously after “we lost a couple brothers that had kids,” which really hit home. Both grew up on Detroit’s east side and saw violence there as young people.
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What legal steps does Fathers First encourage fathers to take regarding custody and child support?
They tell fathers that it’s more than signing the papers after the baby is born: go downtown to get your side of custody, voluntarily put yourself on child support, and let the judge know what you can afford, rather than letting the system “get a hold of us and tear us down.” Even if you are working, they say, telling the judge what you can afford shows the judge you are stepping up.
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What are the long-term plans for the Fathers First Movement?
They say they have big plans and see Fathers First going state to state, with Fathers First seminars and therapy and a group of lawyers behind them, so that men who go to court for custody have a lawyer and follow the right procedures.
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