Van Nuys : Program Encourages Fathers’ Responsibility

Beginning Tuesday, young fathers will have a new place to go for help with raising their children.

Next week Friends of the Family, a family counseling and education center in Van Nuys, will launch its Young Dads program, a two-year project designed to encourage and support responsible fatherhood.

Project coordinator Lee A. Law says the long-term intervention program will help young fathers from 16 to 26 to become more competent parents by dealing with such issues as domestic abuse, anger management and sexual responsibility.

“We’re trying to get across the point that child support is more than just paying money,” Law said.

So far, Law said, 13 young dads have signed up for the meetings, which will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. every Tuesday, beginning next week, at 14552 Kittridge St.

The program is free to any young man who has a child or has a girlfriend who is expecting a baby.

Since 1989, the center has had a Young Moms program, Law said, adding that now “we can start educating the other half.”

“I have seen an increase in domestic violence,” Law said. “Women have been learning these skills, then they go home to this Neanderthal, and he beats up on them.”

Law, who is a therapist, said he hopes the program will encourage fathers to build stronger relationships with their girlfriends or wives and to become loving fathers.

For more information, call (818) 988-4430.