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LIGHT ONE CANDLE Single dad needs job to support kids EDITOR'S NOTE: This is one in a series of stories about people who need help during the holiday season. Some people take on challenges even when they have no idea of how to handle them. That's the case with a 31-year-old Hispanic divorcee who a month ago became the single father of his baby and toddler sons. The two had lived with their mother. But the state Services to Children and Families took them away because she was using drugs and neglected them. Workers placed the children in foster care and told the father he might be granted custody if he attended parenting classes. He completed the required classes and still attends every week, said Flo Dahme, a case manager at the Rogue Family Center in White City. That's quite a feat, especially considering that the classes are in English and difficult at times for the man to understand. SCF workers and the teacher saw he was forming a bond with his children, and so he was given custody, Dahme said. "He's very concerned about his children," she said."I think he is trying his best to do what he can to keep the children." The man and the children are living with friends. He has no job or car, and is not on welfare at the moment. He has applied, but he won't qualify until he finishes certain job search programs. The Rogue Family Center is trying to help with bus fare and other basic needs. Now, Dahme said, the most important part his new life that is missing is a job. He had been working at a restaurant in Jacksonville but had to leave when he regained custody of the children. He needs an afternoon or evening job, she said, so he can take his 3-year-old son to the Rogue Valley Medical Center's Child Development Center every week and continue parenting classes. The toddler has a learning disability, and is taught social skills at the center. "He has to look for jobs that can work around caring for his kids," Dahme said. He also needs blankets, pillows, clothes, a high chair and a crib for his young sons. Readers who are interested in helping the man find an afternoon or evening job, or clothes and furniture for his sons, can call Dahme at 857-6245. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA