• HUD Strong Families Overview 
• HUD Strong Families FAQs
• Strategies for a Successful Event 

• Andre Davis of the Buffalo Bills (YouTube)
• Cato June of the Indianapolis Colts (YouTube)
• Derrick Dockery of the Dallas Cowboys (YouTube)
• Father's Day Video (YouTube)
• Press Release
• Brief 1 Kickoff Edition! HUD Strong Families: Kickoff Edition!
• Brief 2 Parenthood Edition! HUD Strong Families: Parenthood Edition!

St. Petersburg | 2014	Jackson County | 2012	Fort Worth | 2013
Virgin Islands | 2015	Thomaston | 2016

Why is HUD Focusing on Fatherhood?

Current statistics show that children suffer when their fathers are absent. This in no way suggests that HUD does not recognize the critical importance of mothers. The majority of public housing households with children are headed by single women who earn less than $9,000 annually, and they do a tremendous job of raising their children. However, according to statistics drawn from communities across the country, children raised in absent father families are more at-risk for a host of negative factors, including dropping out of school. The focus on Father’s Day is meant to be a starting point; either a celebration of existing relationships or a reason to form first connections.

Father's Day History

Adapted from the NYCHA Fatherhood Initiative, HUD’s Father’s Day Initiative was developed in response to the stark socio-economic data indicating how children and youth are being negatively affected by father-absent homes. For the first celebration, 209 PHAs from 33 states held Father’s Day events. An estimated 22,000 fathers, children, mothers and many others participated in events that local public housing authorities held all over the nation. In some cities, participants met athletes from the NFL and NBA, who joined in on the fun, while the Read it LOUD! Foundation distributed more than 1,600 free children’s books to housing authorities that participated.

Marketing Resources

Marketing Resources

2015 FATHER'S DAY FLYERS AND EVENTS!! 

Fathers represent an important resource for children and their families, by investing time, money and emotional support that contribute to healthy child development and reduces overall stress for family members. The HUD Father's Day events, celebrated in the month of June, are designed to provide opportunities for fathers and families to ensure greater involvement by fathers, thereby leading to positive effects on children's health, development, and well-being.

Since 2011, the initiative has experienced tremendous growth with one thousand two hundred and eighty-one (1281) Father's Day events having been held in Public Housing Agencies (PHA) and in HUD assisted housing communities across the country. Over twenty two thousand (22,000) fathers, children, mothers, partnering organizations participated and provided services and resources. Last year, June 2014, four hundred and forty-six (446) agencies held events, compared to two hundred and nine (209) events in 2011. 

By working with local, state, federal leaders and organizations, HUD is able to facilitate effective and sustainable engagements focused on creating opportunities for dads' continued involvement with their children. By providing resources, knowledge, contacts and guidance, stakeholders are invited to HUD Father's Day activities to collectively impact complex community and neighborhood problems.

Service organizations work with HUD assisted properties to create a common agenda, share data to measure progress, establish mutually reinforcing activities, ensure continuous communication and work ensure an effective backbone support organization. This approach has resulted in the best outcomes for father's involvement with their children. Over the past five years, HUD Father's Day activities have helped provide paternal involvement for responsible nurturing and caregiving, engagement in leisure and play activities, providing the child's mother with emotional and practical support, providing moral guidance and discipline, ensuring the safety of the child, taking responsibility for coordinating the child's care and activities, and connecting the child to his or her extended family, community members, and other esources.

For more information, send questions and/or requests for assistance to natlfathersday@hud.gov.

2015 Father's Day Reflections

Father's Day 2015 Service Organizations

Markting Resources

Click here for last year's PowerPoint presentation of Father's Day events.