As Father’s Day approaches, we recognize one local father who is working to make sure other men have the support they need to be good dads.
FLOURISH Cabinet member and local father Sam Blue is a community engagement specialist with Vision for Children at Risk through Project LAUNCH (Linking Action for Unmet Needs in Children’s Health). He helps engage key leaders in developing a common strategy and plan for improving positive outcomes for young children, families and the community.
Project LAUNCH is a five-year collaborative initiative led by the Missouri Department of Mental Health and the Department of Health and Senior Services. The project is aimed at helping children aged 0-8 grow and thrive in supportive environments. In 2012, the Missouri Department of Mental Health completed an environmental scan of 142 zip codes in Missouri and found that two in St. Louis – 63106 and 63107 – needed immediate attention to keep children healthy.
“They found that children didn’t have the access to basic resources and services they needed, especially in some of the same zip codes where St. Louis’ infant mortality rates are the worst because there is rampant poverty, crime and traumatic stress in those areas,” explained Sam.
One of Sam’s most important roles with Project LAUNCH has been to help with their parent and community cafes, support groups for moms and dads. Project Launch reaches out to parents to help them overcome stressful challenges by bringing them together for support. They believe that the health of children starts with the health of their parents. The parent cafes are especially helpful for fathers, who may not want to seek advice or help from others.
“In the early stages, I had no clue about fatherhood or marriage – I thought I knew, but I really didn’t,” Sam said. “I had a lot of help along the way – someone kept picking me up, so I try to do the same for other dads. I had to learn to humble myself, ask for help and accept that mistakes aren’t the end of the world.”
Sam heard from community members that they often didn’t have transportation to the cafes and other important events in the community. He decided to do something about it. Sam reached out to a local ministry to help purchase a school bus, which he uses to drive parents and their families to important events in their community, like the parent and community cafes.
In addition to his work for Project LAUNCH, Sam is the proud and loving father of nine children – seven girls and two boys, aged 11-26. His tenth was born prematurely and unfortunately passed away shortly after birth.
Sam wants to make sure all fathers can be a part of their children’s lives as much as possible. He says fathers are important to providing structure and a sense of purpose to their children. He recommends that all dads learn from other men and reach out when they need help. Recently, Sam visited dads in jail to talk about resources available to them.
“They wish they could do more for their children,” Sam said. “Even when fathers, regardless of their circumstances, don’t have the resources they need, they still care for their children. It’s frustrating when you feel like your hands are tied. My hat’s off to all fathers. Whether they’re biological fathers or father-figures – thank you for all you do for your children.”
If you have ideas about how we can better support St. Louis dads to make St. Louis a place where babies thrive and families flourish, we want to hear from you.