DeAngelo Jelks wasn’t able to be around much during his daughter Victoria’s early years.
She was 3 months old when he graduated from the police academy, and once he started working second and third shift as an officer, it was rare for them to be at home and awake at the same time. When they were, he felt he was simply present rather than spending quality time with his family. Working as a chemical officer in the Army Reserve kept him away from home frequently as well.
Just before New Year’s, as Jelks was leaving for military duty, Victoria met him at the front door. She started crying and said, “Daddy, I don’t want you to go. For my birthday, all I want is for you to get out of the Army.”
“It broke my heart,” Jelks said.
This led him to start thinking about all of the other fathers who, like him, are in the military or work in emergency services, or who just have really demanding jobs and aren’t able to spend as much time with their families as they’d like.