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\"He said, 'You can't send me out here alone and not think that I'm going to be back here in 48 hours,\" Daniels said. \"He knew for certain he'd be back in jail if no one was there with him.\"

There are more than 800,000 incarcerated parents in federal and state prisons and 92% of them are fathers, according to the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse, a federally funded resource for dads.

When people are released from prison, they typically get a plastic bag for any belongings and leave wearing the same clothes in which they entered prison.

Daniels sees the Bags for Dads program as offering not just necessities like shampoo and conditioner to the dads, but the understanding that they are not alone and that they care about their kids.

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A post shared by Fathers' Uplift, Inc. (@fathersuplift) on Jun 5, 2019 at 4:57pm PDT

\"We see there's a misconception that fathers behind bars don't care about their kids. We know that they do care,\" he said. \"When they held their child for the first time, they did not imagine living a life without them.\"

Daniels, 33, was inspired to found Fathers' Uplift by his own experience growing up in a fatherless household. Daniels said he was 10 when his dad left his family for good.

\"It really resulted in me feeling bad about my father not being in my life and looking at myself as the reason he wasn't there,\" he said. \"I was never the reason but when you don't know why someone left, you create your own narrative and often it points back to you.\"

\"The reality was that my father just didn't have the support to stay engaged,\" Daniels said. \"It wasn't because he didn't love me.\"

\"PHOTO:
Fathers UpLift
PHOTO: A father recently released from prison, center, holds a Bags for Dads bag from Fathers' UpLift.
>

Daniels became a father himself five years ago. He founded Fathers' Uplift with his wife, Samantha Fils-Daniels.

Together, they and a team of around 30 employees help not just dads in prisons but dads who may be divorced, having financial difficulties or who simply don't know how to be a father because they didn't have a role model in their own life. Fathers' Uplift offers mental health support, one-on-one coaching and help with everything from transportation to job searches and housing.

\"When my son was born I found a picture of my father holding me when I was a baby and you could see the love and care in his eyes,\" Daniels said. \"What happened between then and me at age 10 when my dad left is what we want to address.\"

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A post shared by Fathers' Uplift, Inc. (@fathersuplift) on Mar 19, 2019 at 3:40am PDT

This year, Daniels was named as one of 20 community change makers in the second class of Obama Foundation Fellows.

The organization is nearing 3,000 fathers helped and overseeing a new institute that trains social workers and psychologists to help fathers, particularly fathers of color.

\"One thing that I'm very aware of is how hard I am on myself as a man and how nurturing I need to be,\" Daniels said. \"I wanted to make sure that Fathers' Uplift taught men how to be gentle with themselves and loving and nurturing.\"

\"We're giving men an opportunity to know they don't have to be perfect as parents and can be forgiving,\" he said.

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