Dora Gilreath is the communications assistant at Good Dads. She joined the team in 2024 and has Bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in creative writing at Missouri State University. She loves reading, writing and anything related to theater.
Dustin Libertus
Like many Good Dads program participants, Dustin Libertus grew up under difficult circumstances.
“I was raised in a broken home with just my dad,” he said. “He was very abusive, both verbally and physically.”
That’s why fatherhood is so important to Dustin; he wants to raise his kids in a better environment than what he had growing up.
“Throughout my life, I’ve messed up a lot,” he admitted. “I want to teach (my kids) how to live without them making the same mistakes I have.”
Dustin has been to prison three times, and the other areas of his life were in shambles, too. As he puts it, it “didn’t look pretty.”
“I was mad all the time,” he said. “I was lying to everybody I loved. I hardly ever talked when I got home. My marriage almost didn’t work out, and none of us were ever truly happy because of the outside life I was living.”
Dustin knew that all this was unsustainable. With support and encouragement from others—plus his own determination—he’s been able to make positive changes to turn things around.
While in treatment court, Dustin learned about Good Dads. He became acquainted with Misty Shafer, a Good Dads facilitator and member of the McDonald County Good Dads chapter. This marked the moment where the tides started to turn.
Dustin credits treatment court, counseling, and Good Dads with changing his life for the better.
Now, he says his biggest goal as a father is to break the cycle with his children by teaching them how to be productive and civil—and to pass those values onto their own children in the future.
“It’s all been a group effort in restoring my life,” Dustin said.
Dustin’s biggest takeaway from the Good Dads program? Communication is key.
“Through the Good Dads program, I’ve been able to open up and communicate a lot more,” he said.
Dustin explained that the workshops on healthy relationship skills stuck out to him, and using the tools he learned, his relationships have improved.
Participants learn about many forms of healthy communication during the program. One crucial takeaway is this: A lack of communication can be detrimental to any relationship, whether that’s with your children, coworkers or spouse.
Among helpful lessons learned in the program, Dustin says that Good Dads was there to help in other areas of his life, too. He learned the ins and outs of the child support system, and he credits Good Dads as being a huge help with his case.
“Good Dads helped me find other resources to reach out to,” he said. “You need to communicate and reach out, because there is help if you want it.”
Because of the Good Dads program, Dustin says that many things in his life have transformed, especially his relationship to his family.
“The relationship with my kids is better than it’s ever been,” he said. “They feel like they can talk to me.”
Dustin admitted that for a while, his marriage was “on the rocks,” and that most of the time, a phone call between him and his wife, Kelsey, would end in an argument.
Through healthy communication lessons learned in the Good Dads program, he says he and Kelsey are now communicating positively on a regular basis.
“Our marriage is better than it’s ever been,” he said. “We genuinely have good conversations now. Every aspect of my life has changed in a better way for my family.”
This summer, Dustin was among seven dads in Anderson, MO, to don a suit and receive graduation certificates honoring their accomplishments at New Life Church. He described the experience as both satisfying and gratifying.
As a Good Dads and treatment court graduate, Dustin hopes to continue this positive trajectory in his life. He plans on training to become a facilitator himself, and he even wants to someday be a part of launching a new Good Dads chapter in neighboring Newton County.
Above all, Dustin wants to continue practicing healthy communication and be a consistent part of his family’s lives.
“Consistency is one of the major key factors of raising children to be good adults,” he said. “Give them everything they need and most of what they want, provide and protect, and give them the life I never had.”
