2/16/2004 - Hombres Nobles

Hombres Nobles
Program works to build strong Children

BY RAY GLASS
AVALANCHE-JOURNAL

One year ago, seven Lubbock men gathered at a local business with the shared desire to make a difference in their community. They also arrived with a goal: Concentrate on putting fathers back into families and the lives of children, especially boys.

With that meeting, Hombres Nobles of Texas took its first tentative step in the battle against what founder Noe Brito describes as the ‘‘brokenness of men.’’

‘‘What we’re wanting to do is create an ambiance where we can help build strong boys rather than repair broken men,’’ Brito said.

Hombres Nobles (noble men in Spanish) urges men to step forward and get involved in the community as mentors, tutors, role models and heroes.

‘‘Unfortunately, a lot of our boys are looking at the wrong role models,’’ Brito said. ‘‘We’re proposing an opportunity for these boys to be around normal men who have their best interest at hand.’’

The group, despite operating with no office and limited funding, has made steady gains since its understated start.

It has attracted 85 men to its meetings, Brito said, including businessmen, school principals, professors and doctors. It has received a state charter as a community-based organization. It has identified seven major themes: Family, faith, health, education, consumer credit restoration, business entrepreneurship and a drug-free work place.

Hombres Nobles of Texas offers fatherhood classes, financial education, a 12-step substance abuse program, counseling, a reading program for incarcerated fathers and family-day outings. The group plans to sponsor athletic leagues.


It is holding La Reunion Conference from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 20 in Emanuel Worship Center, 1102 70th St. The free conference, open to community members, will feature author Gustavo Martinez and sessions on health, education, youth programs and the Fatherhood Initiative.

‘‘We’re introducing a new way to approach an old problem,’’ said Fred Ortiz, who works with local youth programs. He said the goal is to ‘‘re-energize the father and re-insert him in the family setting in his proper place with his proper responsibilities.’’

The group hopes to make a difference in the lives of fathers, sons and families by stressing recovery for broken fathers and intervention and prevention in the lives of boys. Members said Hombres Nobles of Texas is nondenominational and designed to work with men and families throughout the community, not just Hispanics or blacks.

‘‘Our organization is trying to reach out to all cultures and races,’’ member Eddie Anaya said. ‘‘We want to be part of the community and offer our services to who needs a helping hand. It’s not a culture thing for the east side or the barrio.’’

Brito added, ‘‘The (group) name just happens to be in Spanish, but we’re encompassing the whole community.’’

Businessman Benny Brito, who has discussed the concept with his cousin, Noe, for years, said Hombres Nobles of Texas is intent on reaching the ‘‘dysfunctional, the hard core, those children involved in what sociologists call the culture of poverty, something that is handed down one generation to the next.’’

For those families, ‘‘there’s no other way of life,’’ he said. ‘‘Why? Because they don’t know any other way of life.’’

Hombres Nobles of Texas
Dedicated to helping fathers become more involved with their families, teaching boys how to become strong men and creating a social movement of people, ideas and programs to confront fatherhood problems.

Community-based, nondenominational group holds luncheon meeting first Tuesday of each month.

Membership limited to men, but not limited by age or race.

Members do not have to be fathers.

No membership fee.

Board of directors: Noe Brito, Benny Brito, Glenn Larsen, Fred Ortiz, Billy D. Williams.

Advisory board: Eddie Anaya, Jerry Serna, Ruben Reyes, Jerry Brito, Pete Paniagua.

Contact the group at (806) 632-9679 or send e-mail to hombresnobles@-cs.com.

Source: Hombres Nobles of Texas


Billy D. Williams, who works with the Fatherhood Initiative, cites a list of national statistics compiled by the National Practioners Network for Fathers and Families. He said fatherless homes produce 90 percent of homeless and runaway children, 85 percent of children who exhibit behavioral problems, 71 percent of high school dropouts and 63 percent of youth suicides.

‘‘If we get the fathers to take more time to be involved in their children’s daily lives and activities, then maybe we can have more discipline, more morals and values,’’ Williams said.

It’s crucial to work with fathers and boys, group members said. Noe Brito said Hombres Nobles hopes to target boys in part through schools. It may connect with fathers through referrals from the legal system and other groups.

‘‘Our society is headed to some difficult days if we don’t jump in now,’’ he said. ‘‘We can’t stand by the edge of the river and just watch these boys go off the deep end of that river and say, ‘I told you so, I told you so,’ and just watch them self-destruct.’’

Jerry Serna said his involvement with Hombres Nobles is a reflection on his parents. He is the oldest of eight brothers who all attended college, didn’t do drugs and never landed in jail.

‘‘My father doesn’t have a day in school, but he taught us how to work hard and the ethic of work and respect,’’ Serna said. ‘‘This is what young kids are not having at home. Ultimately, we are all going to raise our kids exactly the way we were raised. I think we all were kind of lucky we had our parents to give us that opportunity.

‘‘My dad didn’t even know how to speak English, but he was always helping people. You can always make a difference if you’re really willing to open your heart.’’

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