By Kathy Gaillard
James Mosley, Senior Facilitator at the Alma Center, is continuing his family’s legacy of service. Over the last 50 years he has served with a number of church and community organizations, primarily working with youth. He also spent about five years in Chicago, right after the riots, helping to rebuild neighborhoods on Chicago’s west side, one of the city’s poorest areas.
“My family has always been involved in the community and the inner city church network. My grandmother was part of St. Mark’s AME Church in the 1920s and 30s when they were located on Walnut Street, and my family was involved with St. Benedict the Moor Parish, which was across the street from where we lived. My learning about service began in 1961 as an altar boys at St. Francis Church,” said Mosley.
These days Mosley’s service continues as he facilitates court mandated education at the Alma Center. The Alma Center works to heal, transform and evolve the unresolved pain of trauma that fuels the continuing cycles of violence, abuse and dysfunction in families and communities. Most of the men served are at-risk or involved in the criminal justice system, with a particular focus on men who have a history of domestic violence.
“While the education we provide is primarily court-mandated, there has to be a willingness on part of the individual to take the program. During the interview process we assess if the men are willing to go through the stages of change. If they are willing to change, there is the potential to grow, learn, and begin learning ways to think and behave differently. They must be open to replacing old behavior with learned newer and better behavior. Nothing changes over a short period of time, which is why our program takes six-months to complete,” said Mosley.
Launched in 2004, the Alma Center, Inc. provides an evidence-based trauma-informed approach of working with domestic violence offenders. Founded by Terri Strodthoff, PhD, the organization uses an innovative healing approach that recognizes domestic violence is a cycle that can be broken. The fatherhood education program helps men who have been abusive recognize, acknowledge and, when safe and possible, amend the trauma they have caused their own children. The program focuses on exploring personal experiences of fathering to learn compassion, forgiveness, and responsibility, and to build positive, trauma-informed and developmentally appropriate nurturing fathering and co-parenting values, attitudes, and skills.
“Our program is powerful and transformative. I’ve been facilitating these six-month cohorts for 15 years now. The challenge is always helping men see themselves and understand the value of connecting with their emotions. When a person is able to take that inner journey it is rewarding. Getting men to understand that there is nothing shameful about their feelings is challenging. We teach men that feelings are a sign of emotional intelligence if used correctly. Many of our men of color are just angry. Helping them step out of their anger is our goal,” said Mosley.
Mosley believes that if men improve themselves, it translates to helping them become better fathers and raising their children.
“One of my colleagues has a saying, “Healing is the new cool.” He started out as one of our clients, and now he is a facilitator. He’s learned a lot and is committed to his change and helping others,” said Mosley.
James Mosley and the work that he does at the Alma Center are much-needed services—planting seeds to grow, nurture and help men be better men and fathers on this journey we call life.
For more information visit the website at www.almacenter.org/our-programs/