As a single father to 2 young boys, Eric is all too familiar with how systems default to thinking of him as someone who is not a skilled or loving father. Eric had to fight hard with Children’s Services to be heard about how his own childhood affected his parenting. In fact, he had to fight extra hard to help people recognize that needing help to heal and to learn is not the same as not wanting to be a good parent. Eric shares his story of an impoverished and neglected childhood and how those experiences coupled with opportunities to be heard had made him able to be a loving father and good provider for his boys.