The city’s Department of Youth & Community Development has a program to help New York City fathers who don’t live with their children maintain and strengthen their relationships.

The Fatherhood Initiative helps fathers become better dads with co-parenting, networking, and counseling services, as well as job programs and education assistance.

“Supporting youth and families is very important,” said Mike Bobbitt, the deputy commissioner for community development, joining NY1 on Father’s Day.

“By strengthening those fathers, and their ability to participate meaningful, gainfully and emotionally in the lives of their children, that will further strengthen their children’s ability to participate in the life of the city and grow into healthy and functioning adults."

Bobbitt, who oversees the program, noted that most of the time “deadbeat dads” are instead “dead-broke dads,” struggling to find work or stable housing.

Many of these fathers that the program helps are referred from the city’s department of probation or the child’s welfare agency. His initiative helps non-custodial fathers — and in turn, their children — grow as people.

“They may be very skeptical about the programs themselves, but once they get in that space and realize it’s a safe space for them to be candid about the issues they’re facing and it’s a great networking space where they meet other dads, then the programs become kind of sticky,” Bobbitt said. “Not only are dads getting the information that they need, but that networking really takes root and next thing, dads are referring to each other to job leads.”

Bobbitt’s message to fathers struggling on Father’s Day is “keep your head up, stay strong in this struggle and know that you’re not alone.”

“As parents, we’re really all in this together to see the next generation grow and thrive,” Bobbitt said.

For more information on the Fatherhood Initiative and resources available to New York City dads, visit the Department of Youth & Community Development’s website.