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bdul-Rahmaan I. Muhammad is the Executive Director and Founder of the multidimensional social service agency, My People Clinical Services. Founded on March 5, 2005, My People Clinical Services offers a wide array of both therapeutic and non-therapeutic, supports, services and programs. The driving philosophy of |
My People Clinical Services is derived from the agencies mission statement: “To enable My People to help Your People so that Our People will succeed”. Muhammad also leads the non-profit arm of the agency, My People Community Services.
Muhammad is a skilled speaker, program developer, and trainer. He currently serves as one of the Tri-Chairs for the Statewide Fatherhood Engagement Leadership Team and has been providing fatherhood engagement, inclusion and equity training statewide. Other the past couple years, Muhammad developed The Manhood Tree, which is comprised of initiatives that focus on the six “hoods”: boyhood, young adulthood, brotherhood, fatherhood, manhood and neighborhood. Muhammad also founded The Dream Support Network which is best known for its signature event, Ice Cream for a Dream. The Dream Support Network also provides workshops, motivational speaking and a ten-week curriculum that teaches participants the logistics to making their dreams reality.
Muhammad received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Tougaloo College and his Master of Social Work degree from Clark-Atlanta University. He is a brother of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, and member of The National Association of Black Social Workers.
Muhammad is a skilled speaker, program developer, and trainer. He currently serves as one of the Tri-Chairs for the Statewide Fatherhood Engagement Leadership Team and has been providing fatherhood engagement, inclusion and equity training statewide. Other the past couple years, Muhammad developed The Manhood Tree, which is comprised of initiatives that focus on the six “hoods”: boyhood, young adulthood, brotherhood, fatherhood, manhood and neighborhood. Muhammad also founded The Dream Support Network which is best known for its signature event, Ice Cream for a Dream. The Dream Support Network also provides workshops, motivational speaking and a ten-week curriculum that teaches participants the logistics to making their dreams reality.
Muhammad received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Tougaloo College and his Master of Social Work degree from Clark-Atlanta University. He is a brother of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, and member of The National Association of Black Social Workers.
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1. Consultation and Technical Assistance
2. Fatherhood SWOT Analysis
3. Going from Fatherhood Engagement to Fatherhood Inclusion & Equity (90 minutes)
4. Turning 50 Barrier to Fatherhood Engagement into 50 Opportunities to Fatherhood Engagement
(90 minutes)
5. 21 Levels of Fatherhood Engagement (90 minutes)
6. 10 Steps to Working with Fathers Beyond Engagement (90 minutes)
7. Full Day Fatherhood Engagement Training
8. Panel Discussions
Getting Personal About Our Dads Panel
- The process to go from a Fatherhood Engagement mindset to a to Fatherhood Inclusion and Equity mindset takes work. We partner with organizations to develop programming, training and systems that will bring their staff up to speed and enhance their work with fathers.
2. Fatherhood SWOT Analysis
- The Fatherhood SWOT Analysis allows for offices to look at the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats as it pertains to their work with fathers and paternal family members. Through this analysis, a decision can be made on how to move forward with training, strategies, etc.
3. Going from Fatherhood Engagement to Fatherhood Inclusion & Equity (90 minutes)
- Due to the increased desire to work with fathers and paternal relatives, Father Engagement has become the standard for many organizations. Engagement of fathers can mean a variety of things based on each social workers experience and desire to develop deep, impactful relationships with fathers they serve. In order to bring fathers fully to the table and truly include them in the process, social workers must move beyond fatherhood engagement to father inclusion and ultimately equity for all fathers. This training highlights the importance of father engagement. It also challenges participants to include fathers in every step of the process and view them on the same footing as mothers. Lastly, the training re-imagines equity from a fatherhood lens and discusses what is needed to get there. (PowerPoint Presentation.)
4. Turning 50 Barrier to Fatherhood Engagement into 50 Opportunities to Fatherhood Engagement
(90 minutes)
- There are many barriers that get in the way of engaging fathers some we can control… others, we can’t, however; what if we looked at those barriers differently and thought of ways to turn what is perceived as a barrier into an opportunity to better engage and work with fathers. This 90 minute training is good for large and small groups. It is interactive and requires participation. The goal of this training is to help individuals who work with fathers see the opportunity in every interaction with fathers rather than seeing barriers. (PowerPoint Presentation.)
5. 21 Levels of Fatherhood Engagement (90 minutes)
- The deeper the engagement, the great the outcomes for fathers. Ask yourself, “How many levels will I go to engage and support fathers?” This 90 minute training goes through each level of engagement and uses conversation and role play to help participants experience the impact of engaging fathers. This training is best for no more than 25 participants. It is interactive and requires participation. The goal of the training is to help individuals who work with father recognize that in order to make changes with fathers the level of engagement matters. Fatherhood engagement requires commitment and time. (PowerPoint Presentation/Handouts.)
6. 10 Steps to Working with Fathers Beyond Engagement (90 minutes)
- Not every case is difficult to engage. This training explores with participants the steps to working with fathers once engagement isn’t an issue to reach positive outcomes for fathers and their children.This 90 minute training best for groups less than 25 but can be done with larger groups if needed. This training is interactive and requires participation. The goal of this training is to help individuals to think about the real work that needs to be done once a father is engaged and committed to do what needs to be done. (PowerPoint Presentation.)
7. Full Day Fatherhood Engagement Training
- Comprehensive fatherhood training for individuals seeking to engage, empower and support fathers and paternal family members. This 6 hour training is best for groups 25 or less. Half day class room style/ Half day interactive role play (Simulation and discussion). The goal of this training is to provide an intense informational session on fatherhood engagement, inclusion and equity for the first part of the day; and in the second part of the day, provide participants with the opportunity to test their Father engagement skills, communication and processing.
8. Panel Discussions
- We facilitate panel discussions that help staff become more present in the fatherhood work by exploring their relationship with their father and hearing from the fathers point of view.
Getting Personal About Our Dads Panel
- This panel is with staff and providers and the focus is two sided: First, we discuss the participants relationship with their dad and secondly, we discuss how their relationship correlates to the work they do with fathers. This panel and follow up discussion can be a powerful tool to remind staff that whether their relationship with their dad was good or bad, fathers have an impact on their children's lives and they should be making sure their practice isn't preventing a positive impact.
- This panel is comprised of fathers who have received services from a particular system and they are given the opportunity to share the pros and cons of their experience. This training is crucial because fathers are able to provide clear examples of what works in engagement and what does not.
21 Levels of Fatherhood Engagement
10 Steps to Working with Fathers
Beyond Engagement
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he Manhood Tree is a collection of initiatives that include group discussions, therapeutic performances, training, community events, documentaries, photography, books and conferences. Individually, each branch of the Manhood Tree is powerful, uplifting community initiatives but when they are paired together, building on the momentum of the program and involvement of the participants, the Manhood Tree initiatives are transformative, life changing events that make better, strong men and families.
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1. The Manhood Tree Group (8 sessions)
a. The Manhood Tree Group is a discussion with men about the six "hoods": Boyhood, Teen & Young Adulthood, Brotherhood, Fatherhood, Manhood and Neighborhood. The goal of the Manhood Tree groups is to allow men the freedom to openly discuss their lives and be able to address past trauma with the support of a trained facilitator and help me to move forward with their lives with greater direction and purpose. Each session of The Manhood Tree is for 2 hours. Groups should be no larger than 6. Participant Manuals are provided.
2. The Fatherhood Manologues
a. The Fatherhood Manologues is a spoken word performance by men who have been asked to write a monologue about being a father or being fathered. The Fatherhood Manolgues seeks to highlight the importance, value and contributions of fathers through their involvement and presence in their children’s lives. This program can either be a performance or a workshop. The performance is 90 minutes which includes a question and answer session. As a workshop, participants are supported to create their own Fatherhood Manologues. A workshop can be one two hour session or multiple sessions including practice and preparation for a performance. Below are a couple examples of the Fatherhood Manologues.
For more on The Manhood Tree Initiatives, visit our website at www.themanhoodtree.com.
a. The Manhood Tree Group is a discussion with men about the six "hoods": Boyhood, Teen & Young Adulthood, Brotherhood, Fatherhood, Manhood and Neighborhood. The goal of the Manhood Tree groups is to allow men the freedom to openly discuss their lives and be able to address past trauma with the support of a trained facilitator and help me to move forward with their lives with greater direction and purpose. Each session of The Manhood Tree is for 2 hours. Groups should be no larger than 6. Participant Manuals are provided.
2. The Fatherhood Manologues
a. The Fatherhood Manologues is a spoken word performance by men who have been asked to write a monologue about being a father or being fathered. The Fatherhood Manolgues seeks to highlight the importance, value and contributions of fathers through their involvement and presence in their children’s lives. This program can either be a performance or a workshop. The performance is 90 minutes which includes a question and answer session. As a workshop, participants are supported to create their own Fatherhood Manologues. A workshop can be one two hour session or multiple sessions including practice and preparation for a performance. Below are a couple examples of the Fatherhood Manologues.
For more on The Manhood Tree Initiatives, visit our website at www.themanhoodtree.com.
For more Fatherhood Manologues visit, https://www.themanhoodtree.com/fatherhood-manologues.html
Capital Community College Commencement Speech:
https://capcommcollege.org/2021/05/29/commencement-2021-capital-community-college-graduates-369-at-dunkin-donuts-park-may-27th/
DCF Newsletter:
https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/DCF/Agency/COVID-Emails/June11.pdf
Connecticut Public Radio:
https://www.wnpr.org/post/african-american-men-share-their-stories-being-dad-fatherhood-manologues
Hartford Courant:
https://www.courant.com/ctnow/arts-theater/hc-ctnow-fatherhood-manologues-20200618-ieeuollblrea5odrsuem2t6dcy-story.html
https://ventura.networkofcare.org/foster/news-article-detail.aspx?id=114218
PIVOTAL: Faces of Change
https://ruedi-hofmann-3wb4.squarespace.com/abdulrahmaan-i-muhammad
CRITICAL MOMENTS FILM #4 / SESSION
A Father Seeking Justice in Dealing with The Child Protection System
https://vimeo.com/491264256/a656b5466f
CRITICAL MOMENTS FILM #4 / Q&A
Post Session Discussion
https://vimeo.com/492590625/f7ed0ebfd8
https://capcommcollege.org/2021/05/29/commencement-2021-capital-community-college-graduates-369-at-dunkin-donuts-park-may-27th/
DCF Newsletter:
https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/DCF/Agency/COVID-Emails/June11.pdf
Connecticut Public Radio:
https://www.wnpr.org/post/african-american-men-share-their-stories-being-dad-fatherhood-manologues
Hartford Courant:
https://www.courant.com/ctnow/arts-theater/hc-ctnow-fatherhood-manologues-20200618-ieeuollblrea5odrsuem2t6dcy-story.html
https://ventura.networkofcare.org/foster/news-article-detail.aspx?id=114218
PIVOTAL: Faces of Change
https://ruedi-hofmann-3wb4.squarespace.com/abdulrahmaan-i-muhammad
CRITICAL MOMENTS FILM #4 / SESSION
A Father Seeking Justice in Dealing with The Child Protection System
https://vimeo.com/491264256/a656b5466f
CRITICAL MOMENTS FILM #4 / Q&A
Post Session Discussion
https://vimeo.com/492590625/f7ed0ebfd8
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Office Address:
Abdul-Rahmaan I. Muhammad My People Clinical Services 111 Gillett Street Hartford, CT 06105 Email address: arim@mypeople-ct.com Social Media: Facebook: @abdulrahmaanimuhammad Instagram: @abdulrahmaanimuhammad Websites: www.mypeople-ct.com www.mypeoplecommunity.org www.themanhoodtree.com |