Dear Supporters, Decision Makers, and Fellow Change-Makers,

I want to speak from a place of truth — because behind every statistic is a real human life. And behind every failed court application, there’s a child losing time they’ll never get back.

Trevor is a father.
He served his sentence.
He built a parole plan with family at the centre.
He came home clean, ready, and full of hope.

But on the very day he was meant to register his daughter’s birth — he was locked out.
Not just of the house.
But out of fatherhood.

For the past five years, the courts have denied him even the right to be heard.
His daughter doesn’t carry his name.
And his Parental Responsibility — the same responsibility the Ministry of Justice said he should have — is still just an idea on paper.

 
💬 I know this story too well
I’m Michael Groce.
In 1985, I was hunted across Brixton.
But what hurt more than the headlines was the way the system made me invisible in my children’s lives.

I’ve taken flack for not being there.
But I was never given a fair path to be there.
When I finally got my son Jordan after his mother passed — I realised how broken the system was, and how many good fathers it loses along the way.

That’s why I founded Fathers With Futures.

 
📢 We don’t want special treatment. We want fair treatment.
We’re asking:

✅ That Family Courts let fathers like Trevor be heard
✅ That Parental Responsibility be enforceable, not optional
✅ That Probation can intervene when family breakdown is avoidable
✅ That lived-experience models like Fathers With Futures be funded, adopted, and trusted

 
📣 Join us. Share this petition. Tag your MP.
This is about more than one man — it’s about justice, reform, and giving children the right to know both halves of their story.

🔗 Sign the petition or forward it:
👉 https://chng.it/cp4zn4kXgg

Thank you for standing with us.

With respect and resilience,
Michael Groce
Founder, Fathers With Futures
michaelgroce@bootedandrooted.com
www.bootedandrooted.com

 
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