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Jun 15, 2008 9:26 am US/Central
Formerly Homeless Father Gets A 2nd Chance
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) ―
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Jarrad Pierce and his family know what it's like to not have a roof over your head. He lost his home in 2005.
CBS
This Father's day has special meaning for one Minneapolis father. Previously homeless and without his kids, Jarrad Pierce decided to clean up his act and get his family back.
"I've always felt like I was a father, but I just made poor decisions as a father," he said. "I made poor decisions that ultimately left myself and my wife and my kids homeless."
Pierce and his family know what it's like to not have a roof over your head. He lost his home in 2005.
"It broke us up. It has made me feel irresponsible for not raising my kids properly. It broke up a happy home. Basically it made me stop feeling confidant about my fatherhood," he said.
Pierce and his kids recently moved to Camden Apartments, which is part of the Emerge Village program. The group serves homeless families, with a special emphasis on helping single fathers reunite with their kids.
"We have three therapists that are on staff here at Emerge who work with the families -- one therapist who focuses on the children, and the other two work with the adults," said DeVon Nolen, associate director at Emerge Villages.
Pierce said counselors there gave him the support he needed to get his kids back from foster care.
"He worked hard to get us back, and now we're back with him, and all that hard work came to us being back with him," said Jaylen Pierce, Jarrod's oldest son.
Along the way, the father of three also broke some of his bad habits.
"Number one, I put God first. I stopped using drugs and alcohol and I stop thinking selfishly," he said.
Pierce said for the first time in a long time he feels like he is doing right by his children.
"They know that this is a safe environment, they know that I'm a sober father, and I'm doing whatever it takes to continue to keep them on the straight and narrow," he said. "My goal now is to continue to make better decisions that's going to benefit my children."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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