DIANNA LYNN HILL RESPONDS TO FATHERHOOD COLLABORATIVE 4 Q's & A's

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1. What is your previous experience, personally and professionally, related to fatherhood and family issues?

 

 Dianna Lynn Hill ANSWER: 

 First and foremost, I am certain that I have more experience on this subject matter than my competitors. I have always believed that family should come first and that by taking care of our own, we can prosper collectively. I am a single mother to an 8 year old child who lost her father last August due to complications of detoxing from alcoholism at home alone... Trust me when I say I went through every agency under the sun seeking guidance, support, and services to help him get well and to overcome the devastating factors of addiction so that he could be healthy for the best interests of our daughter.... But none of the agencies were prepapred to deal with the overall spectrum of these situations, particularly when it encompassed everything from child support court, custody court, probate court, to criminal and civil courts. The system is inundated with these stories.... I see them everyday. But most significantly, these statistics are what keeps the "System" in business.

As a Family Readiness Group Liaison with the military for approximately 9 years, I steadfast assisted our leadership build up our soldiers and families collectively to promote healthy families. The training, collaboratives, and support that we invested into our families was extraordinary. The families I worked with then, still know me today and call upon me for advice, referrals, and support. As the daughter of a 100% Disabled Vietnam Veteran, I have spent all of my life watching my parents volunteer to help homeless veterans and families in turmoil over veteran hardships and issues while becoming an advocate in my adult life. I have been a member of the Special Forces Association for over 20 years. I have seen my share of dysfunctional families covering the kaleidescope of issues that plague our "Fathers". I have been on various sides of cases involving this subject matter and I have invaluable consideration for all parties collectively.

 

Since 2001, I have worked with my parents to ascertain custody of two of my brother's children (Grandparents' rights/Custody). I went to years of court hearings on custody, child support, and finally assisted my father with adopting the two boys (2007) after my mother passed (2006). In this case, I have worked with my father to ascertain community resources at every level across the spectrum from the Area Agency on Aging resources of Passport and Meals on Wheels to  Healthy Start and Help Me Grow programs. Every single agency's resources were filtered through by the Harrison County Children & Family First Council which was a wonderful reflection of government agencies collaborating, filtering through services, and narrowing down what is needed to sustain stability for families faced with various issues including (but not limited to) the Veteran's Service Commission, Children's Services, Juvenile Courts, Home Energy Assistance Programs, Mental Health (ADAMHS BOARD), MRDD,CHORE, MENTORING (Big Brother), Kinship Programs, and Special Education resources within the schools. I have worked with this group since January 2007 and the impact of their filtering system of government bureacracy was absolutely invaluable. In Cuyahoga County, we have uncountable agencies that are supposed to help families, but often who leave them frustrated. I believe that by promoting organizational understandings, consideration, and a filtering system to all of these resources in our community that we will begin to find solutions that dramatically improve our quality of life as families and as a community.

 

2. What are the specific issues and needs of fathers and families that you believe need to be addressed locally?  How do you believe the new Cuyahoga County government should address these needs? 

 

 

Dianna Lynn Hill Answer: 

 Everyone has a different opinion about life, responsibility, and parenthood. I have attended Al Anon meetings and AA meetings to get a better understanding of issues which adversely affect our families. I have worked with the School Parent Organization through the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, I have referred clients to PROJECT ACT for homeless families of CMSD students, I have worked with homeless father's in crisis from domestic violence referring them to agencies including 211  First Call for Help, the Domestic Violence resources and to the Witness/Victim Service Center. I have worked with men who are in half way houses, through community service programs, and who are down and out trying to obscurely overcome their own obstacles and barriers in life. The most significantly transforming item of business at all levels is "ATTITUDE" and many of these families just need some positive attitudes to promote healthy avenues of recovery and sustainability towards stabilization.

 

Through all of this I have worked with all kinds of fathers from all walks of life. I have learned some major factors across the board start with human respect and human expectations. First and foremost, understanding the individuals and their actual thought processes on the subject matters and recognizing the battles of idealisms for family's is one of the toughest areas to conquer. Every agency has variable concepts on how to approach this subject matter. However, most families are battling the socio-economic struggles of life, most families have disabled family members that add to their strife, and uncountable families are dealing with addictions and criminal histories. Having human respect is a huge part of this process. Building up our families from the ground up and accepting the weaknesses while building on  the strengths is an absolutely imperative objective to be attained. These fathers and their families collectively need respect that is all encompassing which inspires, motivates, and empowers them to be a part of the solution within their own lives. I believe that by offering opportunities that promote small business investments, that assist individuals with mitigating the government processes, and that help the everyday families to achieve their American Dreams; then we are working towards the primary needs of Cuyahoga County. Effectively speaking, by opening up the doors to transparent government operations, we can effectively reduce redundancies while promoting options that invite our citizens to partake in all opportunities towards advancement within our region. I believe that our families should receive stabilizing wrap around services that empower them to overcome all of their demographic issues and revitalize their hope in a positive future.  

 

Dianna Lynn Hill Answer:

 

I have a vision to invest into our families at all levels providing them with bridge resources to achieve their goals and to help empower the people of our county through leadership that inspires the best in their lives while streamlining the government processes. I want our men, women, and children to believe in the American Dream and that our government is here to provide transparent and accountable operations that opens doors for them with employment, family first matters, and educational opportunities. Respecting the humanity of our population is imperative throughout all of these activities. It is my goal to inspire the best in all of our parents and to protect their best interests.

 

This is a significant area of interest from experience for me. After years of trial and error on this subject matter; I recognize that a large amount of the fathers are adversely affected by the criminal charges and losses of driver's licenses associated with nonpayment of child support. Moreover, these low income fathers do not always have the avenues or resources available to them for advocacy, empowerment, and legal assistance. Therefore, these families are adversely affected without the primary resources and advocacy that may assist them in mitigating the matters of relevance involving their parenthood.  Ultimately, I believe that fathers should be given unlimited resources towards every opportunity just as other people should be given those resources. I believe that making those pivotal resources readily available to parents is imperative to helping them find stability and reasonable resolves in these matters. I believe that if they (non custodial parents) must do community service in the interim of working- so as to bridge the times of unemployment that disrupt their responsibilities, than those community service projects should be available to them and the custodial parents in the interim. I believe that if we begin to unite parents at the round table of life, mitigate the social service options(welfare/ODJFS), and come to reasonable resolves in the beginning; then many families wouldn't spend years chasing eachother over child support, having custody issues over the money, and along the way, it might begin to unite the families in a positive, productive, and communicable forum of understanding one another that may have been absent prior to these opportunities becoming a part of their case management. Many non custodial parents who don't work are wonderful human beings who are great parents to their children despite their inability to pay child support.

 

A key element to the reform of the system in this case is advocating to have the double standards of married versus non married laws revealed and reviewed in the State of Ohio. As there are two sets of rules regarding the child support system, it is quite difficult to mitigate the courts adequately for both parties. Children have "PARENTS"...There should be one set of rules for "PARENTS" regarding child support and custody. I know that our role is not as legislators, but I truly believe that when a Judge in Cuyahoga County told me "WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD" after I begged him to put my daughter's father in jail for a contempt charge and he blew it off-that less than 3 months later-my daughter's father died..... I begged him to put him in jail to save his life at the time. The records show that. Most parents "fight" because they share feelings for eachother and care about the other because they are parents of a child that has united them in a bond indefinitely. I believe that families who are faced with issues to degrees of addiction, criminal issues, and so forth should not be abandoned; yet they should be embraced, resources should be provided to mitigate the scenarios from the beginning, and that they should be provided basic guidance in their quest to stabilize their parenthood. Upon providing early intervention, uncountable families might just build foundations of understanding that assist them in overcoming uncountable dynamics. Our county needs to make these tools accessible to parents and families without overlooking their needs.

 

I would like to promote programs that inspire investment into our low income parents including small business opportunities, reentry programs, and family first programs. Empowering families with tools such as legal resources to promote healthier family relationships is a beginning and I believe that families should be given these pivotal resources to mitigate the legal system in Northeast Ohio while empowering them to overcome the dynamics of their circumstances.

 

 

Dianna Lynn Hill Answer:

 

I believe that funding should be distributed based on need without a shadow of a doubt. The demographic data used to ascertain federal funding is predominantly of the economically disadvantaged. That funding should be directed towards empowering those families, not to provide top heavy not for profit agencies that are non productive in the circle of life to these families. I believe that by providing transparent accountability of these uncountable programs, we are promoting healthy business and social service practices on behalf of the families in the most need. I believe that the investments within our community should be into the value of the individuals and their worthiness within our community. I believe that if we offer small business opportunities, education, and reform to the people who most deserve those resources-then we will inspire them to believe in the system and the possibilities of overcoming historical attitudes that are derived from unethical practices and non productive business models which were meant to make a productive difference on behalf of our citizens. I believe that the truth can be rewarding and ackowledging the systematic abuses that have infiltrated our community at large is the first step to restoring the faith of the citizens. Once the people rebuild their faith in our leadership because I am here to put the people's interests first; then we will be well on our way to recovery. 

 

I truly understand what it's like to have a noncustodial father who is an unemployed addict that suffers from mental illness and is unable to conquer their personal issues without direct intervention. I understand what it's like to have a child that loves that parent unconditionally and what it's like to have to react to these dynamics and work tirelessly to protect that child's best interests. I know what it's like to fight the government to do what's right on behalf of humanity and I stand tall, proud, and experienced to uphold the basic rights of our families in Northeast Ohio without being swayed by political relationships and corruption. My time in service on behalf of our world has taught me to uphold democracy and free the oppressed through humanitarian actions and professional leadership that is accountable, has values, and respects the citizens of our world.

 

I value the work that you do to promote fathers and families. No parent should be left behind. It is my utmost goal to build our families up and invest into their lives today and tomorrow. If I can find the power to put our men into training programs, to put them to work rebuilding our housing stock, or to put them to work planting gardens within our community; then I will make it my mission to help them ascertain the training needed and to get them work that builds their resumes and self worth within our community.  Thank you with all of my heart for all the work you do for the best interests of our community at large!

 

Tomorrow, I will attend the funeral of BRIAN ADKINS. He is a true reflection of your statistical data and issues that I recognize you face regularly in the Fatherhood Collaboratives. To learn from his case history, to understand the dynamics of family and life issues surrounding his existence, and to comprehensively & analytically evaluate life choices of a parent like himself and his life in general; you'd be surprised to learn about him as a regular human being who suffered from the results of the systematic issues that were not prepared for his needs or those of his family. He is only one in a list of young men we are losing in our area that have fought to survive against the odds. At the end of the day, he was a father and he deserved to have options other than jail to help him through the patches of life that kept him from achieving his own dreams in life.

 

 Once you knock a man down so many times; how do you pick him up and inspire him to get back out there and fight for his rights to be his very best? It's such a process to rebuild these men and empower them to overcome such diverse and tragic dynamics. He was trying his hardest to overcome things with a deck stacked against him. And last week, he met his maker, leaving behind a world of folks who loved him beyond words, for his soul was good and quietly Christian beyond words. His humanity and all mens' humanity should be appreciated and valued...and so should the families of these men and their children. Our community at large deserves the best from its leaders and public servants. I will always expect the highest standards of public service and execution of services by and for the people. I will always consider subject matter expertise when making decisions on behalf of our community at large and look forward to working with you all in the coming years! But most importantly, I will always put family first in our community.

 

ELECT DIANNA LYNN HILL 

Democrat

for Cuyahoga County Executive

MARK YOUR CALENDARS TO VOTE ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 07, 2010

"A DIFFERENT BREED OF CANDIDATE"

"PUTTING FAMILIES FIRST!!!"