David Kisner, an Elizabethtown resident, has spent most of his life in addiction and incarceration. Now five years sober, he has a new lease on life and fatherhood. He’s been reconnecting with his children, but he also knew he needed more support and guidance along the way.
That’s where the Dad Café comes in—an inspiring community initiative in Elizabethtown, supported by a Commonwealth Center for Fathers & Families (CCFF) mini-grant awarded to Goodwill Kentucky. The program provides tools to be a better dad by offering a supportive space where fathers and father-figures can connect, learn, and share. Meeting on the first Monday of every month through November, the Dad Café combines food, fellowship, and focused discussions on parenting.
Kisner has attended every meeting since learning about the program through Tadd Ligon, a career coach at Goodwill Kentucky’s Elizabethtown Opportunity Center, who applied for and was awarded the grant with fellow Elizabethtown father Bobby Evans. Kisner even met his therapist at a meeting.
One event especially stood out to him: an opportunity to hear from Melanie Biggers, an Elizabethtown district attorney.
“It was so beneficial,” Kisner said. “I just hit five years sober. I’ve been an addict and a criminal my whole life. I’m living this new way of life, but from my old perspective, she was the enemy. At the event, Melanie spoke to me personally and gave me advice. She really helped me a lot. They’re really not the enemy. They’re here to help both sides. That changed a lot for me.”
Ligon said he and Evans pursued the grant because they were struggling themselves as fathers at the time.
“We were struggling and worried about what things would be like through fatherhood,” Ligon said. “We partnered with CCFF from Lexington and participated in a six-week Dad Academy. It was like a dad boot camp. They talked to us, encouraged us. … They wanted to empower us to be leaders in our communities.”
With the Dad Academy behind them, Ligon and Evans established themselves as the “Kentucky Dads of Hardin County” and launched the Dad Café. What began as group dinners has since grown into a program supported by community partners including the Lincoln Trail Health Department, county prosecutors, clinical social workers, and guest speakers.
“We know how good it felt after we went through the Dad Academy and how much it helped,” Ligon said. “It gave us confidence to be with our kids.”
The next Dad Café event, scheduled for Monday, September 8, from 6-8 p.m. at the Elizabethtown Opportunity Center, will focus on coparenting—something Kisner says is “chaotic” to navigate.
“I think that will be super beneficial,” he said. “There’s no handbook on coparenting. I plan on being there early and taking all the information that is offered and trying to utilize it as best as I can.”
Ligon and Evans plan to carry on the Dad Café program into next year, even without federal funding. To learn more about Goodwill Kentucky’s Elizabethtown Opportunity Center and its services, visit GoodwillKY.org.