Haji Shearer, Director of the Fatherhood Initiative at The Children’s Trust, is the 2014 recipient of the Frances J. Bonner, MD Award given out by the MGH Department of Psychiatry Center for Diversity. The award “recognizes individuals who have overcome adversity and made significant contributions to the field of mental health and/or the care of minority communities.”
TFP Founding Director Dr. Ray Levy, who nominated Mr. Shearer, was quick to note that his colleague is the first non-physician to win the award. Among his many accomplishments, Mr. Shearer’s work focuses on:
- Teaching fathers in urban communities across the nation to embrace a new relational paradigm of parenting and family life.
- Training practitioners working with fathers and families on his innovative approach to improving father engagement (see his new book, Facilitating Fathers’ Groups: 22 Keys To Group Mastery, 2014).
- Supporting African-American and Latino men in healing the traumas of racism.
- Promoting gender awareness through facilitation of Men’s Healing Circles, Boys to Men Rites of Passages, and Couples Workshops.
As the 2014 winner of the Bonner award, Haji joins a highly accomplished group of recipients, including Dr. Carl Bell (2011), Dr. Margarita Alegria (2012), and Joseph E. Trimble, Ph.D. (2013). Haji will present Grand Rounds to the MGH Department of Psychiatry on December 11, 2014.
In nominating Haji, Dr. Levy said: “For his commitment to people of color, for his commitment to inner-city fathers, for his commitment to organizing and mobilizing Boston’s city and social service agencies, for his innovative approaches to working with fathers and families using limited resources, for overcoming adversity with a steady yet passionate process of hard work, and for his leadership in the Boston Fatherhood community, we at The Fatherhood Project nominate Haji Shearer for the Frances J. Bonner Award.” On behalf of all of us at TFP and his colleagues across the country, we congratulate Haji for his vision, leadership, and ongoing commitment to changing the lives of fathers and families for the better of all.