By fifteen, I was in a gang. That became my world. Because of that, I had no idea how to be a father. All I knew was I didn’t want to be like mine—gone and silent. But I was still living the same pattern, choosing the streets over my kids.

Going through the Dad Academy workshop was an incredible experience—not just for me, but for my two sons-in-law, who went through it with me.

I became a father at 24, living in a low-income apartment and relying on public assistance, and I quickly realized how unprepared I felt...