Transforming lives, healing families, breaking cycles of generational trauma.
Fathers’ UpLift is the country’s first mental health and substance abuse treatment facility for fathers and their families For over a decade, we’ve been serving Black and Brown fathers through our unique blend of services focused on fatherhood and mental health. Our programs in Boston have helped thousands of fathers re-engage with their children and improved life outcomes.
BIPOC fathers disproportionately experience high rates of trauma, poverty, addiction, and incarceration For fathers without strong support systems, these challenges can seem impossible to overcome We see fathers enter our doors dealing with multiple stressors, shame and pain. Despite that, they want to be in their child’s life – but don’t know how.
Father’s UpLift is succeeding where traditional service providers fail Through our blend of therapy, coaching and community engagement, we provide accessible and culturally relevant support, helping more men of color embrace mental health services without fear or stigma
Our Solution
Our Challenge
The mental health field has long failed to meet the needs of the men we serve, often due to stigmatized environments and limited understanding of their life experiences
Schools of social work and psychology rarely teach culturally sensitive care or offer handson experience with Black and Hispanic men from marginalized communities
Black and Hispanic men are nearly twice as likely to go without mental health services as their white counterparts.
Only 5% of the doctoral level psychology workforce are Black, and most of these are women.
Our programs are designed to address mental and emotional challenges as well as the social and economic barriers that may prevent men from remaining engaged in their children's lives – issues ranging from housing, employment, food security or substance use. We serve our community across four core programming pillars:
Our strength-based clinical therapy services are provided by clinicians who share our population’s background
Coaching Therapy
Programming designed to support men as they re-enter and rebuild their lives following incarceration
Homecoming Re-entry
Peer Groups
One-on-one peer support provides personal mentorship, guidance, and assistance with job searches, custody challenges, support for youth, families, and more
12-18 week courses covering topics such as managing emotions, parenting, housing, employment, and more
Our Impact
“Fathers’
UpLift has given me more than I expected.ThisisthefirsttimeIwantedtostay clean.IthoughtIwasgoingtodiethewayI wasgoing...
Thishasworkedbeyondmybelief.” anonymousclient
Today, we’re reaching nearly 1,000 men and their families annually through deeply rooted partnerships in the Boston area ranging from local nonprofits to the City of Boston and Suffolk County House of Corrections.
Many of our coaches are graduates of our programs, and they utilize their personal experiences to assist fathers in overcoming challenges of fatherhood, addiction, or previous incarceration, in order to achieve their desired goals
Transforming the Field
We know that the challenges our community is facing are not unique Every day, Fathers’ UpLift engages with communities that are eager to adopt our programs and learn from our model We are working to double our reach here in Boston, while also developing partnerships, programs, and trainings to support thousands more fathers across the country in the next several years.
And our vision does not end there. We have the opportunity to support exponentially more fathers by reshaping the institutions and structures that are meant to serve the mental health of Black and Brown fathers and families but so often fall short
With investments over the next three years, we will transform our Boston home into a hub for nationwide innovation and accelerate our work with schools of social work to address the significant gap in BIPOC therapists and provide the blueprint for a new approach to delivering mental health services to some of our most vulnerable populations
Our work today will sow the seeds for a future where every father and their family can thrive in a supportive and understanding environment.
We invite you to join us.
of clients report improved quality of life 86%
report an improved relationship with themselves 95% of fathers served report improved relationships with their children 93%
Our United States Therapist Recruitment (USTR) Fellowship is designed to increase the number of BIPOC therapists in the mental health, behavioral health, and addiction fields
Graduate school students receive a financial stipend, support for licensure test preparation, structured mentorship, and support with job placement post graduation. In 2024, we graduated our first cohort of 12 fellows.
“I’m an exponentially better mental health professional now than when I
walked in the doors.”
Marcel McClain, Fellowship graduate 12 Southern Ave Dorchester, MA 02124
