Fatherless homes are helping to fuel Jamaica's violence crisis, while bitter breakups are driving children away from their dads, according to Executive Director of the Right Shift Foundation Kevin Wallen, who is calling for a national push to get more fathers actively involved in their children's lives.

Speaking at a fatherhood forum held at the Spanish Court Hotel in New Kingston on Sunday, Wallen said fathers play an irreplaceable role in shaping children's lives and warned that their absence is having far-reaching consequences for families and society.

The event, staged under the theme 'A Paradigm Shift,' was organised by the Right Shift Foundation in partnership with the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) as part of an initiative to encourage greater responsibility among men, particularly in inner-city communities.