Halbert Sullivan shows congratulatory letters he received from President Obama.Photo courtesy of the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

Cheers to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for this article on social worker Halbert Sullivan, who received the Gold Pin for the President’s Volunteer Service Award for his work helping men become better fathers.

Sullivan, MSW, runs the Fathers’ Support Center, an organization on the outskirts of downtown St. Louis that has helped thousands of fathers from underprivileged areas improve their parenting, job and financial management skills.

“It’s an awesome feeling, but I don’t do what I do for awards,” he said. “What feels really good is to hear from the father’s mouth of the impact we’ve had on his life and his children’s lives.”

Sullivan works well with clients because he can relate to some of them.

He lived a life of crime and had a drug addiction until he woke up on a bus stop bench not knowing how he got there and had an epiphany. He decided to go into rehab and improve his life.

Sullivan went to a community college to become a drug counselor and a professor suggested he study social work. At age 49 he earned a master’s of social work from the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis.

While at George Warren Brown Sullivan was approached to work on a campaign to help struggling fathers. That is how he ended up at the Father’s Support Center.

Social workers help families become stronger. To learn more visit the National Association of Social Workers’ “Help Starts Here” Kids and Families website.