Father's Day 2016 Celebration at Helena Housing

Barbeque donated by local businesses.

Hunting and fishing are always popular themes in Montana.

Mothers attended the event too!

As part of HUD's National Father's Day Initiative, the Helena Housing Authority (https://hhamt.org/) (HHA) hosted their first ever Father's Day event on June 10, 2016. The outdoor extravaganza was designed to provide youth and community members an opportunity to celebrate the role of fathers and the role they play in their children's lives and futures.

The celebration included a barbeque, games for children, a pie eating contest, three legged race, home construction projects for kids, and numerous other fun family activities. Event partners included the Helena Police Department, Home Depot, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, HHA's Resident Management Corporation, and several local businesses and non-profit organizations.

HHA joined hundreds of public housing authorities and multifamily properties across the county in celebrating Father's Day 2016. Besides the actual Father's Day weekend, June 18 and 19, housing providers conducted activities throughout the month of June to celebrate fatherhood and the importance of dads being connected with their children who live in public housing or surrounding communities.

HHA's event at Sherron Park, located on their Stewart Homes Campus, marked the first time that a Father's Day event was hosted in the Montana as part of HUD's initiative.

One of the key goals in HUD's Father's Day Initiative is to help connect men to resources that can improve their lives and the lives of their families. For example, some fathers may need help with job training or employment resources, others with access to health services.

With this in mind, Father's Day events provide an opportunity for men to connect to resources that will allow them to become employed and continue regular engagement with their kids. The more fathers become engaged and the more resources they access, the more they can support mothers in parenting.

In line with HUD's Strategic Plan Goal 3: "using housing as a platform to improve the quality of life of our residents," the focus on fatherhood in public housing flows from current statistics that show when fathers are absent children suffer.

HHA Housing Program Ka-Ai McBride commented, "It's really important to engage residents in the community and honor fathers in their kids' lives. We hope this will lead to a greater involvement of fathers with the kids they love." Rodney, one of the fathers at the HHA event agreed, noting that, "things like this are great; it gives a better sense of us community and family."

• Strengthening & Empowering Families
• Helena Housing Authority (https://hhamt.org/)

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