Historical mistreatment and substandard healthcare of Black people in the U.S. have resulted in disproportionately lower rates of Black and other groups of color seeking mental health treatment. This may explain why finding a Black therapist in Detroit, where three-fourths of the population identify as Black, can be incredibly challenging. Outlier Media explores this conundrum with professionals of color working in the field.Read more here →

To address the ongoing opioid epidemic and curb nonmedical use of the drug, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is finalizing a new policy on at-home disposal prescription opioids in partnership with USPS, reports Native News Online. This new policy would require opioid manufacturers to provide prepaid mail-back envelopes for patients to dispose their unused pills. Lawmakers in Indian Country are urging that the policy consider the thousands of people who live in rural and tribal communities and don’t have reliable access to the postal system.  

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This year marks the 45th anniversary of the first community garden registered with New York City’s Department of Parks and Recreation. Nearly 400 community gardens are on Parks Department property and are licensed and registered with NYC's GreenThumb, which is the nation's largest urban gardening program. Epicenter-NYC spoke with the deputy director of GreenThumb, a longtime volunteer and child of the city’s community garden movement, about the program’s mission and how community gardens are sowing seeds of unity and growth across the city. 

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Highlighting the innovators transforming health outcomes in our communities

Founded by two sisters in 2020, VeganHood has become a Harlem staple known for serving healthier renditions of soul food classics. “We don’t compromise the flavors. Everything tastes just like your mother’s or grandmother’s kitchen – what you’re familiar with,” says co-founder Janine Smalls-Gueye 

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