The Hurtt Fathers Advocate Corporation
Fatherhood & Family
Advocacy In Maryland
HFAC works to strengthen families through fatherhood and family advocacy in Maryland, bringing the experiences of fathers and families into conversations with community leaders, advocates, legal professionals, and policymakers. Our advocacy focuses on protecting healthy parent child relationships, connecting families with resources, and helping create meaningful change in our communities.
Jerron Hurtt with Maryland Senator Nick Charles after testifying on SB 744 before the Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee
Fathers Need More Than A Photo Op
I know what it feels like to need help and not know where that help is going to come from.
There were times when I did not need another conversation about the importance of fathers. I needed someone to listen. I needed guidance. I needed resources. I needed financial support. I needed someone willing to stand beside me while I was trying to hold my family and my life together.
Because when a father is struggling, the problems do not stay in one place.
A family situation can become a financial situation. Legal expenses can drain everything you have worked for. Transportation can become a problem. Housing can become unstable. Work can be affected. Your mental and emotional well-being can suffer.
And through all of it, you are still trying to be a father and show up for your children.
Fathers need more than a photo op. We need actual help.
In many underserved communities, fathers are trying to remain present while facing barriers that can make an already difficult situation even harder. Financial hardship, employment challenges, housing instability, transportation, mental health, and navigating the family court system can all affect a father’s ability to stay connected and involved with his children.
For Black fathers, these challenges can be compounded by stereotypes and assumptions that do not always reflect the fathers who are showing up, fighting to remain involved, and doing everything they can to provide for their children.
This is bigger than fathers alone. When fathers are supported, children benefit. Families become stronger, and stronger families help build stronger communities.
HFAC believes underserved communities need more than conversations about fatherhood. They need resources, opportunity, support, and people willing to listen to what families actually need.
Black Fathers and Underserved Communities
Jerron Hurtt with Carl Snowden, veteran Maryland civil rights leader and Convener of the Caucus of African American Leaders, whose decades of advocacy have helped advance civil rights and strengthen Black communities across Maryland.
Supporting Fathers Strengthen Families
And helping a father is not only about helping him.
When we help a father find employment, address transportation, connect with mental health support, locate resources, understand where to seek legal assistance, or simply have somewhere to be heard, we are helping strengthen his ability to show up for his children and his family.
That is why HFAC starts with fathers but looks at the whole picture.
We believe supporting fathers can strengthen children, families, and communities. Mothers should have support, children should have stability, and fathers should not be left trying to figure everything out alone.
The goal is not to choose one parent over another.
The goal is to help families stay connected, help parents become more stable, and make sure children have the best opportunity possible to grow up with healthy support around them.
Strong fathers can help build stronger families. Stronger families can help build stronger communities.
Changing the Conversation Around Co-Parenting
Family advocacy also means creating healthier conversations around parenting, co-parenting, and what children need from the adults in their lives.
Jess Hilarious is a Baltimore-born comedian, actress, author, media personality, and co-host of The Breakfast Club. Her book, ’Til Death Do We Parent: Raising My Kid with His Dad, shares her perspective on parenting and co-parenting.
In this photo, Jess is holding my children’s book, Look to the Left, Look to the Right, which teaches children an important lesson about crossing the street safely with a parent or caregiver.
The books are different, but the connection is simple: children need engaged adults around them, and parenting conversations matter.
Jerron Hurtt with Jess Hilarious holding his children’s book, Look to the Left, Look to the Right.
Community Connections
At our Viral 4 A Vision event, I was joined by community leaders and professionals who each bring valuable experience to the work of strengthening families and creating opportunities.
Marilyn Pierre, Attorney, Family Law & Immigration Advocate, has experience in family law and immigration law, advocating for individuals and families navigating the legal system and helping connect communities with legal knowledge and resources.
Aubrey Edwards is connected with the University of Baltimore School of Law’s Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts (CFCC) and has been an important connection in supporting our work with families and young people.
Dr. Kenya Malone is a financial professional, community advocate, and radio personality on WOLB 1010 AM, using her knowledge and platform to educate and empower the community.
Jerron Hurtt Sr., founder of The Hurtt Fathers Advocate Corporation, created Viral 4 A Vision to help young people and community members learn how to use social media and digital platforms to turn their voices, talents, and ideas into opportunities.
When the right people come together, our individual work can have a much greater impact.
Jerron Hurtt Sr. with Marilyn Pierre, Aubrey Edwards, and Dr. Kenya Malone at the Viral 4 A Vision event.
A Movement For Families
Through my social media platform, I was able to connect with other parents and advocates who share a commitment to protecting children and strengthening families. Those connections brought me together with Christina Rello, Senator Nick Charles, Brian Fitzgerald, and Maryland parents with lived experience connected through the National/International Family Court
Reform Advocacy Organization, led nationally by Robert Garza.
Social media has shown me how powerful lived experience can be when people are able to find one another. What started with sharing my own journey has connected me with parents, families, and advocates across Maryland, throughout the country, and around the world.
Our experiences may be different, but the goal is the same: support parents, protect children, strengthen families, and keep the best interests of children at the center.
This is not mothers versus fathers. This is about families.
Christina Rello • Senator Nick Charles • Brian Fitzgerald • Jerron Hurtt Sr. • Parents with Lived Experience
Connected through advocacy. United by the best interests of children and families.
Mental Health & Wellness
Mental health is an important part of fatherhood and family stability. Fathers often carry the pressure of providing, parenting, navigating relationships, employment, financial challenges, and sometimes the family court system, while feeling like they have to handle everything on their own.
Through our connection with Andre Vaughn and Global Impact Wellness, HFAC works to make sure fathers and families understand that seeking support is a sign of strength. Access to mental health resources can help fathers become healthier individuals, more present parents, and stronger members of their families and communities.
Andre brought us together that day as we headed to a Baltimore Ravens game, but the relationship represents something much bigger: community, connection, and making sure fathers have support too.
Jerron Hurtt Sr., Andre Vaughn & Ali Mehdaoui
Global Impact Wellness & ME Studios
Building relationships that support fathers, mental health, stronger families, and positive community connections.