Why basketball heals what talk therapy can’t?
All you need is a basketball, a talking stick, and a team of good people. With them, joy, healing, and storytelling become powerful tools for transformation. We are born into circumstances, communities, and histories deeply woven into this world upon arrival. What if there were a framework to connect those outside forces with the emotions and stories that live within us?

Bio:
I am an African American, by way of Jamaica, from the Southside of Chicago, transplanted to Kalamazoo, Michigan. I am a 13-year educator, therapist, social worker, restorative justice practitioner, and retired basketball player. I founded LifeHoops, a BIPOC focused basketball healing framework that centers the stories, history, joy, and identities of BIPOC adolescent boys. We started as an after-school club in Chicago Public Schools in 2016, then re-launched in partnership with STARA Collaborative, a grassroots BIPOC and liberation-focused fiscal sponsorship organization in 2024. We are currently implementing our model in the Kalmazoo County Juvenile Home School.