Welcome to the J.L. Smith Suicide Prevention Center for Young Black Boys Inc
We are a Massachusetts Community Behavioral Health Organization (CBHO) advancing innovation and applied research to confront structural violence and its impact on Black boys. We provide in-home and community-based therapy across Massachusetts, specializing in early intervention for Black boys ages 0–3. By bridging public health, neuroscience, and social policy, we design data-driven, culturally responsive models that prevent harm, promote healing, and drive systemic repair.
Mission & Vision
Our mission at the J.L. Smith Suicide Prevention Center for Young Black Boys Inc is to dismantle the systemic conditions that lead to the premature death of Black boys, whether by violence, incarceration, untreated trauma, or traditional suicide. The vision is to build a complete Black behavioral health ecosystem that protects Black boys across their entire lifespan, beginning in the womb. A system grounded in science, community knowledge, and structural redesign, where every layer of care is connected and nothing operates in isolation
Community Behavioral Health
- Home-based behavioral health therapy
- Community-based behavioral health therapy
- Individual, family, and caregiver support
- Trauma-responsive clinical care
- Assessment, treatment planning, and ongoing case management
- Culturally grounded therapeutic models for Black boys
Still Breathing Boys group
- Bi-weekly therapeutic group sessions
- Emotional regulation and conflict-resolution skill-building
- Art-based mental-health activities
- Creative writing
- Healing circles and peer support
Perinatal Structural Risk Reduction
- Maternal support during pregnancy
- Inflammation-based biomonitoring (CRP and IL-6)
- Continuous case coordination
- Infant developmental monitoring through 24 months
- Culturally responsive perinatal care
Liberation Literacy
- Structured literacy for K0-K2
- Story-based emotional regulation lessons
- Books centered on Black identity, culture, joy, and confidence
- Guided vocabulary & phonemic awareness
- Daily affirmations and positive racial identity development
- Fine-motor, rhythm, and movement-based learning activities