Below is a collection of stories presented in quick format and presented to protect the people involved.  Click and listen. Get a feel for what folks are handling every day and overcoming alongside our workshops.

Some folks go to great lengths to be helped. We want to be here for them

Prejudice blocks progress.

Not everyone comes through the front door

Perceptions need to change

Anger blocks relationships

Developing a different life vision versus the anger of upbringing.

Working in one venue opens others.

“The truth is the programs of Dad’s University and the Community Transformation Initiative are working on an individual basis.  They just need to be exploded and available to more people.”
Tom, a supporter, directly and diligently stared into my eyes, “Does what you do really make any difference?”  
Wow, that is a challenge.  In the land of statistics and statutes, how do you measure difference?
Story One: Community Builder: Jack came to one of our Life Skills classes in Gainesville.  Fresh out of a 13 year prison term and life of addiction, he was despondent, dejected, and disconnected.  He was dark. Through the course of the next eight weeks something changed.  Jack went from apathetic to engage.  Jack took the concepts and found himself answering questions for others.  A tense situation at the recovery center where he lived tested his skills.  Another man was prevented from a destructive angered outburst and thanked Jack.  Jack used his new skills.
Several months after graduating, Jack showed up in the parking lot with a new truck, a new job, a smile, and a refreshed life.  No darkness here.  Now, even more months later, Jack refers others to the eight week workshop and serves as one of the key men in the community helping others with alcohol issues.  He is reconnecting with family and making friends in life.  He is growing as a healed healer. Jack is not alone.  He is just one story.
Story Two: Another Chance: Eldron is a grandpa.  His days of raising children did not fare so well.  Now he is studying diligently with me on a 1-1 basis as he works with other kids in the schools where his grandkids attend.  We started working together through the outreach to fathers at an elementary school.  He’s making up for lost years. He’s learning new skills and turning his heart toward many children and many children’s hearts toward a healed healer father. Eldron is not alone.  He is just one story.
Story Three: Rounded Out: Rousty is a tough six prison term rounder.  He is crude, crusty and softening.  One night he looked up at me in a surprising moment of tears.  “Phil, are you telling me if I follow some of this I can avoid a seventh prison term?”  Over the last months, he’s had several successes in family interactions to stay on track being a faithful dad and husband.  There is a life journey ahead of him.  He brought another dad to Dad’s University.  He’s becoming a healed healer. Rousty is not alone.  He is just one story.
Story Four: Jobs and Family: Angel came back excited after her first workshop session.  An incident at work threatened her employment.  Unsually, she related, she would have just let it pass and have been fired.  Using the new listening skill, exactly as coached, she mustered the courage to talk to her supervisor.  They worked the situation out and she kept her job and improved her work relationship.  
A few weeks later, Angel brought another story.  Her two adult daughters had quit speaking with her.  One was in prison and she had had no contact for months.  Angel had been using skills to talk to one daughter and then the one in prison.  She mended fences and the family was successfully talking and relating.  She wept as she was able to heal old wounds using new skills and stabilize her traumatized family.
Story Five: On the Home Front: Jose y Maria during a parenting class opened conversation.  Part of the exercise was assessing strengths and challenges.  When it came to decision making, Maria excitedly explained her view of Jose’s journey.  When he started Life Skills, decisions were destructive. They both agreed.  Through the process they both felt Jose now had a strength in making decisions instead of a weakness.  This happened through participation over six months.

There are stories of women and men being changed for life are too numerous for a quick note.  Yes, our limited approach makes a difference. What can we do with the expansion?  What insights can we provide for others?

County jail successes

What is one big item you are taking from Think!
Here are what the participants say about the workshops
Be thankful
How to think things through
Communication skills
Knowing how to respond to anger
my goal is the best way for me to understand how much I want to do right away
learning to accept what cannot be changed.
I'm taking it all but I really will use the planning skills in my life because it helps me stay focused. I also really enjoyed the video about addiction and how it affects everything.
Learning how to deal with my anger today
Listening skills!
The ability to control my emotions
New way of learning
Communication
Except the things you cannot change. Listen to other to fully understand and respect others thoughts and feelings. Stop and think
To actually THINK!
Learn too better communicate and also understand the emotions and feelings of others
Learn too listen more too the feelings of others and I too can understand myself better and change for the good
My goal
Communication
Communication
The knowledge I learn from think
Help with anger
That you will learn so much more and go a lot further in life if you just stop and listen to what people are saying
Focusing and minimizing
The 1 Big item for me is self control to achieve your goals in life
The ability to identify a problem and how to properly handle it
Changing my way of thinking
KNOWLEDGE AND HOPE
that i can think.. i really can
To breath and my thinking reports
KNOWLEDGE
Steps to take towards goal setting
Listening responding to others and Definitely my thinking reports
That i can get control of my thoughts and actions
Understanding the Feelings of Others
Every action and reaction is controlled.
Learning to take the time to think out the steps of every situation in life instead of going off impulse.
Dealing with anger
Not to be so angry
The thinking report
I’m going to plan my my goal
Positive
To realize how I’m feeling before speaking. Noticing my triggers
Pick yourself up and keep going fail big or fail small
how to deal with different problems
Understanding feelings
Thought and feeling
I've learned how to stop, take a deep breath and assess a situation.
Think things threw before responging.
I control my actions by controlling my thoughts
Everything. Thanks for helping my sharpen my skills i learn.
How to make my life better.
How to communicate with others
How to talk to others.
Make myself a better person
Learning something new.
Better Communication
Better Communication
Learning how to communicate with people and having a better understanding of life.
the necessity to reflect, contemplate and understand that our thougjhts ultimately become our actions
Think before you react, you can control everything that happens with you by your response.
New methods to approach people. Ways to evaluate my emotions as well as the emotions of the other person.
To be more assertive yet calm in every aspect of communication in life
The fact that my aggression is not usually warranted and i need to think about others more
Learning how to listen to your love ones and how to respond to them, and the way, knowing that you care, and that you’re paying attention to their conversation with you and learn how to comfort them when they need to be, and how to handle situations in it polite matter
Life
Stopping and thinking