Project Lifeline graduates are honored

After spending 18 months in jail for a crime he didn't commit, Jerome Rogers lost his automotive repair business, and missed nearly two years of his 4-year-old daughter's life.

But, Rogers, 46, hasn't given up.

He was one of 25 men honored last night during the Father's Day Rally Committee Inc. appreciation reception celebrating the "power of responsible men."

At the reception, the men, who have overcome many different obstacles and completed 18 weeks of group sessions under FDRC's Project Lifeline, received certificates of recognition.

"We want to encourage them to do positive things," said FDRC president Bilal Qayyum. "We're all about developing and supporting black men."

Project Lifeline and the FDRC help participants find employment, provide assistance with child-custody battles, and deal with anger issues and other everyday struggles men face.

Group sessions allowed the men to "talk it out and deal with what's going on," Rogers said.

Rogers was acquitted by a jury on robbery charges in March. He said the experience left him angry, stressed and unemployed.

He has learned through the program how to deal with his anger and is a community-outreach worker with FDRC.

"They took me in as a family member," Rogers said. "I've got my house and I'm working on some other things."

Rasheed Abbott, 34, of West Philly, sought assistance from the FDRC in an attempt to gain full custody of his 4-year-old son. The FDRC helped him find a lawyer and he is now able to have shared custody.

The program "gave me an outlet to talk about everyday stuff - whatever is on your mind at the time," Abbott said. "It helped to relieve that stress."

Abbott said he is working toward establishing a community recreation center in West Philadelphia with the help of FDRC.

Abbott said it felt good to be honored. "It keeps me going forward," he said.