Fathers’ UpLift Selected as a Massachusetts DMH Behavioral Health Promotion and Prevention Grantee

Announcements and CampaignsAugust 7, 2026

Fathers’ UpLift Selected as a Massachusetts DMH Behavioral Health Promotion and Prevention Grantee

Fathers’ UpLift is proud to announce that we have been selected as a grantee of the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health (DMH) Office of Behavioral Health Promotion and Prevention (OBHPP) to expand behavioral health promotion and prevention efforts for fathers and families.

This partnership represents an important investment in something Fathers’ UpLift has long believed: fathers’ emotional and behavioral health matters—not only to fathers themselves, but to their children, families, and communities.

Through this two-year initiative, Fathers’ UpLift will expand three of our father-centered behavioral health programs—Pre-Father Care, Managing Emotions, and Homecoming—across Greater Boston, with a focus on Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan. These programs address areas including emotional regulation, trauma recovery, parenting readiness, reentry, family reconnection, and overall well-being.

Introducing the Community Fellows Model

A central component of the initiative will be the Fathers’ UpLift Community Fellows Program.

Over two years, 96 DMH-supported Community Fellows will participate. Each semester, 24 Fellows will be enrolled across three tracks: Managing Emotions, Pre-Father Care, and Homecoming.

Community Fellows will not simply participate in programming. Their experiences and perspectives will help Fathers’ UpLift better understand the needs of fathers, identify barriers to behavioral health and community resources, and strengthen how services are designed and delivered.

The broader initiative is expected to directly engage 240 fathers over the project period.

Taking Behavioral Health Into the Community

Our work will also extend beyond the walls of our programs.

Fathers’ UpLift will host six Neighborhood Father Wellness Events throughout Greater Boston, bringing fathers, families, community organizations, and behavioral health resources together. These events will promote emotional well-being, peer connection, family wellness, and greater awareness of available supports.

The initiative will also create opportunities to listen to fathers and community partners and better understand the behavioral health needs, protective factors, and service gaps affecting fathers across Greater Boston.

Building Something Bigger

For Fathers’ UpLift, this work is about more than delivering programs.

It is an opportunity to continue building a behavioral health system in which fathers are intentionally included, listened to, and supported.

We are grateful to the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health and the Office of Behavioral Health Promotion and Prevention for investing in this work and in the fathers and families we have the privilege of serving. There is much more to come.

Applications for the Fathers’ UpLift Community Fellows Program will be announced soon.

~ Fathers’ UpLift

Fathers’ Uplift Blog