Genoa Barrow

As they cultivate gardens, seniors in Sacramento find a renewed sense of purpose. Sharon Chandler is one such senior who introduces the love of gardening to residents of the Delta Cove senior apartment complex in South Sacramento. The initiative fosters social interaction, encourages healthier eating habits and induces gardeners to incorporate home-grown produce into their diets.

The “food as medicine” movement is growing in popularity as more people look to plant-based solutions for ills that continue to plague the Black community at disproportionate rates.

Sacramento State college student Jaliyah Dramera doesn’t always have money to buy the foods necessary to fuel herself properly. She is not alone.
More than two-thirds of the 23,687 college students polled in California reported facing food insecurity.

Mixing systemic racism, low wages, unemployment and resulting poverty is a troubling recipe for long-term – in many cases generational – food insecurity. Armed with the knowledge that food insecurity can lead to poor outcomes and impact the community’s overall health and well-being, Black organizations have taken the lead in addressing the multi-layered issue.

The aftereffects of witnessing traumatic events can linger on for decades. The Black community is seeking interventions and resources to help young Black boys heal from violence and trauma and process stress, anxiety, racism, and other weights they carry on their shoulders.

Clinical social worker LaVontae Hill found help for his mental health struggles due to OCD and anxiety but had to fight entrenched mental health stigma along the way.

Recent high-profile deaths have forced people to look at ways Blacks, particularly Black males, are suffering. Mental health is at the top of the list.

New guide from statewide network offers community-driven alternatives.

Local and national researchers say there needs to be more study on the link between domestic violence and violence in the Black community.