(Contributed photo)
WATSONVILLE — PAPÁS, an agency focusing, primarily, on fathers, is offering a free conference Wednesday in Watsonville.
The conference features workshops and other help for parents age 25 and younger, plus lunch, childcare and other incentives. Those who serve parents will be on hand as well. All are welcome.
For 24-year-old Henry Lopez of Watsonville, PAPÁS was one of the lifelines that helped him travel from the discouragement of fathering a baby boy who didn’t really know him to fathering a 3-year-old son he calls his “right hand.”
“He goes everywhere with me,” Lopez said in a recent interview, as he sat at a picnic table outside the PAPÁS office on Westridge Drive.
Lopez talked mostly about his son, Moises, saying they have “bonded,” and that his son knows what to expect from him.
Lopez said he learned much from the PÁPAS program, though he didn’t want to commit initially. But he came on a day in January and decided to stay.
Now, he said he understands how to communicate with his son, has knowledge of his child’s emotional needs and goals for himself that include college and a better career. He said one key lesson was learning from other fathers.
“PAPÁS helped me with myself [primarily],” he said. “I had to get myself in order to help my son. At first, I focused on what I was doing wrong, then I learned to stop and think about it and try to correct it. For a while, I felt like everything was wrong. But I changed my way of seeing things.
“And I’ve seen [the change] in my son. I’m not a perfect dad, but I want to set a good example. I don’t see a lot of fathers bonding with their kids, especially boys.”
Lopez even mentioned, when asked, an intense talk with his own father and the pain of the end of his relationship with Moises’ mother. He said he has learned to co-parent with Moises’ mother despite the pain.
“Moises was a key person to me not staying at the bottom,” he said.
He added that he also wanted to prove wrong those who thought he couldn’t turn his life around.
“I guess I did it for myself too,” he said. “Fear just holds you back. Better to confront whatever it is. It’s been quite a ride, but everything turns out good in the end. I thank God for that. God has always been with me.”
PAPÁS Supporting Father Involvement helps fathers, father-figures and mothers in Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo counties. It is part of Encompass Community Services and shares space with Head Start and other Encompass groups at 225 Westridge Drive in Watsonville.
And while the program serves all ages, the Wednesday conference is geared to parents age 25 and younger, with workshops from 1-5:30 p.m. focused on parents and from 8:30 a.m. to noon on those who serve them. Childcare and lunch will be provided. To register, visit papassfi.org.
For information, call 724-3885.
