ChaQuana McEntyre Jones believes social workers can provide answers to life’s most pressing problems. “If more social workers were recognized for their degree and hired, they would change the world,” she says.
McEntyre Jones is a prime example of such changemaking. She graduated from UMD’s Master of Social Work program in 2012. Within two years she created a nonprofit to address unmet needs in the Duluth community.
Family Rise Together (FRT) was founded on an issue close to her heart: supporting fathers. As she points out, most supportive services are focused on uplifting single mothers. “Women are tired and need a break. Men want to be fathers but have no support,” she explains.
FRT helps fathers meet basic needs, including stabilizing mental health and securing housing. The organization also aims to empower fathers and their extended families to cultivate connections with their children.
While studying at UMD, McEntyre Jones was a Child Welfare Scholar. She had an impactful internship with St. Louis County’s child protection unit and later went on to become a child protection worker.
As a Black woman, a lesson from these experiences resonated with her. She discovered that Black and Native children in foster care were more likely to return to their home “if someone in their paternal family—whether it be a father, an auntie or a grandma—was sitting at the table.”
According to McEntyre Jones, the default approach has been to write off fathers and paternal relatives who are imprisoned, addicted or just generally uninvolved. She stresses the value those fathers and their extended family members can bring to a child’s life—and the mother’s.
“We put billions of dollars into helping mothers. But as the world evolved the weight stayed on women’s shoulders,” she says, adding that her goal with FRT is “taking pressure off mothers and supporting fathers to do the work.”
A path to purpose
FRT has a formula for uplifting families by addressing the “plagues of poverty,” according to McEntyre Jones. The multi-pronged approach helps with housing, mental health and kinship connections. It also supports BIPOC entrepreneurs.
McEntyre Jones knows firsthand how critical such services are. Born to teenage addicts, she experienced more than her fair share of trauma and hardship early in life. Despite becoming a mother at a young age, she has been resolute in pursuing a better life for herself and her family.
As a single mother, she obtained several degrees and wrote a book in quick succession, all the while working to support her children. After years of operating in this survival mode, McEntyre Jones had to take a 6-month leave of absence from work to deal with burnout and depression.
But her passion for helping people, along with her entrepreneurial spirit kept her going and led her to create FRT. “I started a nonprofit while on welfare,” she says. “I was completely exhausted but still acknowledging that even though I was struggling myself I had the ability to help others.”
McEntyre Jones has assembled a strong team to realize FRT’s mission. She’s been securing funding for some ambitious plans. The organization's work with children and families is supported by Minnesota’s recently passed African American Family Preservation Act and Child Welfare Disproportionality Act.
Additionally, the nonprofit is building a BIPOC Small Business and Entrepreneurial Center in the Lincoln Park Craft District. It will include a production and retail space as well as a commercial kitchen and programming to support burgeoning businesses. The organization is also working to build a multiplex with 10-12 affordable housing units.
FRT's tremendous growth and successes are heartening but McEntyre Jones says the work can still be “frustrating, hard and overwhelming.” She has made it a point to prioritize self-care and has a routine that includes at least two miles of walking each day to keep herself healthy and grounded.
Her four children and two grandchildren keep her motivated. “I owe my children. They have sacrificed for my public successes more than anybody,” she acknowledges. "They may not have went through the trauma I went through but they sacrificed having the mom they deserved. I owe them a legacy they can hold onto, that they can touch.”
Ideas keep coming to McEntyre Jones and she intends to keep working to effect positive change in her community. She laments the fact that “so many people die with ideas they don’t move forward.” For her, that’s not an option. She intends to work tirelessly until the end. “I am to die like an empty vessel with all the oil poured out,” she says.
For those wanting to support the work of Family Rise Together, McEntyre Jones says volunteers are always needed to help with various programs. Monetary donations are also appreciated.