What is the Healthy Black Families Collaborative (HBFC)?

The HBFC is a program WEAVE and its partners developed with grant funding from Blue Shield of California Foundation. The grant supported WEAVE’s efforts to partner with the community to create more community-focused and culturally-responsive supports and services for Black residents facing domestic and sexual violence in the Meadowview and Valley High communities of South Sacramento. The HBFC has expanded to serve Black and African American communities throughout Sacramento.

What work was done to establish the HBFC? What is being done now to address these issues?

As part of the HBFC efforts, WEAVE has hosted monthly listening sessions to learn more from the community about the prevalence and impact of domestic and sexual violence in the community, as well as begin to explore strategies to prevent it. Listening sessions have been hosted in partnership with Sacramento Children’s Home, South Sacramento Christian Center, Rose Family Creative Empowerment Center and Kaiser South Sacramento within the Meadowview and Valley High communities.

The work of the HBFC and feedback received, contributed to WEAVE transforming how it approaches building diversity, equity, inclusion, and a sense of belonging in the organization. This includes establishing the IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access) Division to guide organizational efforts and work to create systems change at all levels of the organization. 

The HBFC meets bimonthly throughout the communities served. We have established and maintain a warm hand off process to refer individuals and families experiencing domestic and/or sexual violence. We intentionally participate in, support, and sponsor community events to maintain a process and connection to communities.

Sustaining Our Efforts

WEAVE continues to expand membership in the HBFC and looks for opportunities to hosting listening sessions, gather information, and work to lift up the voices of the communities and those organizations serving them. This has included engaging community members to discuss the intersection between gun violence and domestic violence and addressing mental health services needs in the Black and African American communities. 

Future listening sessions will be geared to hear from:

• Men (both abusers and victims) because we know often men who cause harm and / or have been victimized may be hurting and in need of help too
• LGBTQ+ community
• Community Defined Mental Wellness Practices

WEAVE and our partners have engaged community ambassadors, people in the community with lived experience, who can contribute to creating change in their community. Ambassadors are paid for their time and will be trained to help lead the peer support groups.

How can I get involved?

If you would like to get involved in this initiative, contact: hbfc@weaveinc.org 

South Sacramento Christian Center

Rose Family Creative Empowerment Center

Meadowview Family Resource Center

Escape Velocity Foundation 

Voices of Youth

Valley Hi Family Resource Center

Are you interested in joining the Healthy Black Families Collaborative? If so, please complete the information below.