{"id":232656,"date":"2026-03-23T15:07:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T15:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/232656\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T15:07:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T15:07:10","slug":"sacramentos-new-strategy-to-fight-loneliness-starts-outdoors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/232656\/","title":{"rendered":"Sacramento\u2019s New Strategy to Fight Loneliness Starts Outdoors"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

This story is part of our March 2026 issue. To read the print version, click here.<\/a><\/p>\n


\n
\n <\/p>\n

\n There\u2019s a loneliness epidemic in America that is at the forefront
\n of public health and city planning discourse. While busy,
\n transient work lives, screen addiction and other changes carried
\n over from the pandemic are keeping us apart, there is a
\n recognition that rebuilding those connections requires
\n intentional, culturally grounded efforts.\n<\/p>\n

\n Amid 160 heritage oak trees on ancestral Patwin land, a new
\n gathering place is being born in West Sacramento. Heritage Oaks
\n Park is currently under development and will include an outdoor
\n amphitheater, BMX bike skills course, skate park, fitness
\n stations, walking and running trails and a splash pad, an
\n interactive water play area for children. It will also feature
\n the recently opened Emile\u2019s Cafe, serving coffee, drinks and
\n to-go snacks for park visitors.\n<\/p>\n

\n Along Broadway in Sacramento, the Oak Park Sol Community Garden
\n was recently opened with 15 garden plots, an outdoor kitchen, a
\n free pantry and library, children\u2019s play area and a grape arbor
\n \u201csitting space\u201d designed to build neighborhood connectivity.
\n Meanwhile in Natomas, plans are underway for the Birds and
\n Benches project, where various artists will create 12 unique park
\n benches for people to gather and observe the abundant birds and
\n waterfowl of the Natomas Basin.\n<\/p>\n

\n \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n The Oak Park Sol Community Garden just reopened with 15 garden
\n plots, an outdoor kitchen, a free pantry and library and a grape
\n arbor with a sitting space. (Photo by Debbie Cunningham)\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI\u2019ve seen how powerful shared spaces can be in bringing people
\n together,\u201d says Sacramento District 1 Councilmember Lisa Kaplan.
\n \u201cThe Birds and Benches project, created in partnership with the
\n City of Sacramento Art in Public Places Program, helps North
\n Natomas Regional Park become a place of further belonging. These
\n artistic benches invite our diverse community to pause, observe
\n native birds and wildlife, and most importantly, connect with one
\n another.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n These are just some of the projects that communities in the
\n Capital Region are working on to create places for people to come
\n together.\n<\/p>\n

The isolation challenge<\/p>\n

\n We live in isolated pods, work constantly and often find
\n ourselves far from family and the traditional support systems
\n that previous generations took for granted.\u00a0 The pandemic
\n only intensified what had already become a growing crisis of
\n disconnection in American communities. While COVID-19 forced
\n physical separation, it also revealed how fragmented our social
\n infrastructure had become.\n<\/p>\n

Related:\u00a0Sacramento State
\n professor says lonely employees are hurting your business\u2019 bottom
\n line<\/a><\/p>\n

\n About one in three adults in the U.S. reported feeling lonely in
\n 2024, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
\n Prevention, and about one in four reported not having social and
\n emotional support. The health implications are serious: Social
\n isolation and loneliness can increase a person\u2019s risk for heart
\n disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, depression, anxiety and earlier
\n death.\n<\/p>\n

\n Sacramento County has recognized social isolation as a critical
\n threat to community well-being. In its 2025-2030 Local Aging and
\n Disability-Friendly Action Plan, the county acknowledged that
\n \u201csocial isolation and loneliness remain problems in our
\n communities\u201d and \u201cpose a serious threat to our physical and
\n mental health.\u201d The county\u2019s needs assessment, which included 26
\n community listening sessions with more than 500 residents between
\n 2022 and 2024, identified \u201copportunities that decrease isolation
\n and loneliness, and build friendships and support systems\u201d as a
\n top priority under social participation.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI\u2019ve seen how powerful shared spaces can be in bringing people
\n together.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\u2014 Sacramento Councilmember Lisa Kaplan<\/p>\n

\n In Sacramento, Ernesto Delgado, the restaurateur who owns
\n Mayahuel, La Cosecha and others, is working on his vision of
\n turning Cesar Chavez Plaza into a community meeting place for
\n people to gather, eat, picnic, drink, talk, play chess and maybe
\n even dance \u2014 similar to the plazas of Mexico City. Hanami Line, a
\n tree garden inside Robert T. Matsui Waterfront Park along the
\n Sacramento River, will see its second season of pink cherry
\n blossom blooms this year. Fair Oaks Village recently completed a
\n $23 million renovation of its amphitheater and park for people to
\n meet up and have community events. Friends, couples and families
\n can be seen walking around day and night.\n<\/p>\n

Related:\u00a0Sacramento\u2019s
\n New Cherry Blossom Park Sees Its First Spring<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Farmers markets are a perfect example of community gathering
\n places, and the Capital Region is lucky to have an abundance of
\n them. The Midtown Farmers Market, which spans five blocks and 200
\n vendors, was recognized last year by the American Farmland Trust
\n as No. 1 in California and No. 3 in the U.S. These markets don\u2019t
\n just provide food access, but also cultivate community. A Project
\n for Public Spaces report found that customers experience an
\n average of 15 to 20 social interactions per visit to a farmers
\n market.\n<\/p>\n

Parks and gardens<\/p>\n

\n On Jan. 15, Alchemist Community Development Corporation partnered
\n with Leadership Sacramento to celebrate the revitalization of Oak
\n Park Sol Community Garden, a space that has served the
\n neighborhood for 15 years. The garden was originally created to
\n reclaim a vacant lot in a historically underserved area.
\n Leadership Sacramento spent a year enhancing the space to allow
\n new opportunities for programming, working together, growing food
\n and building relationships around shared purpose.\n<\/p>\n

Related:\u00a0Are Art
\n Spaces Becoming the New Third Places?<\/a><\/p>\n

\n \u201cWhen the pandemic hit, the community garden model wasn\u2019t working
\n consistently, with individually rented plots and collaborative
\n care for shared spaces,\u201d says Joe Robustelli, director of food
\n access with Alchemist CDC. \u201cWe\u2019ve been taking over plots and
\n turning them into community plots where the produce contributes
\n to a free farm stand and supports our Community Food Connections
\n program with Sacramento City Unified School District, where we
\n deliver locally grown food to families in need who don\u2019t have
\n access to healthy food.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Sacramento city officials are also rethinking how public spaces
\n can foster connection. \u201cWe have over 230 parks that are used for
\n recreation and community gathering,\u201d Jason Wiesemann, park
\n planning and development services manager, explains.\n<\/p>\n

\n \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Emile\u2019s Cafe in West Sacramento is already open at Heritage Oaks
\n Park, which is under construction and will feature an outdoor
\n amphitheater, skate park and BMX skills course. (Photo by Debbie
\n Cunningham)\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cAt Muir Park in downtown, plans are proposed to transform an
\n underutilized space into a community hub. The city is proposing a
\n community garden and a futsal court (similar to soccer). The
\n proposed improvements have been supported by members of the
\n community and are set to be voted on at the City Council soon,\u201d
\n he says.\n<\/p>\n

\n The city is also adding lighting to sports fields and courts.
\n Currently, they are adding lights to the ball fields at North
\n Natomas Regional Park and futsal courts at Tanzanite Community
\n Park. The lighting will allow extended playing hours. They are
\n also updating the electrical system at Southside Park to
\n accommodate larger community events like food truck gatherings
\n and concerts. These improvements aim to activate spaces during
\n different times of day and for different purposes, recognizing
\n that community happens in many forms.\n<\/p>\n

Related: Pickleball Fever:
\n People of all ages in the Capital Region are playing the
\n fastest-growing sport in the U.S.<\/a><\/p>\n

\n The Department of Youth, Parks and Community Enrichment has
\n developed the Volunteers in Parks program. The VIP program is the
\n department\u2019s structured approach to engaging community members in
\n the care, activation and stewardship of Sacramento\u2019s parks. VIP
\n was established to help us move beyond one-off volunteer events
\n and toward a more intentionally sustainable volunteer model that
\n supports staff capacity while strengthening community ownership
\n of public spaces. The program creates clear pathways for
\n individuals, families, community groups and partners to
\n participate in park-based volunteer opportunities, including park
\n cleanups, tree planting, beautification projects and ongoing site
\n stewardship.\n<\/p>\n

\n According to Wiesemann, \u201cThe VIP program has been a great
\n success, with over 1,000 registered volunteers. A variety of
\n events are available to all members of the community throughout
\n the year.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Threads of Belonging<\/p>\n

\n This spring, artists will unveil the city\u2019s first textile mural
\n across the vast wall of Valley Hi-North Laguna Library in South
\n Sacramento. Its plans cast a vibrant picture of textile
\n tradition, which reads left to right, starting with a bright
\n orange floral motif representing the Palestinian poppy set beside
\n an elusive optical whirlpool of blue designed to the measurements
\n of phi. The mural ends with squares of home, with red and green
\n patterns.\n<\/p>\n

\n Created by three cultural bearers, Pachia Lucy Vang, Ren
\n Allathkani and Jamie Cardenas, the handwoven mural weaves
\n together the textile traditions of Hmong, Filipino and
\n Palestinian communities. But the real work of Threads of
\n Belonging isn\u2019t just the finished artwork. It\u2019s what happens in
\n the workshops leading up to it, where community members gather to
\n stitch, learn and connect.\n<\/p>\n

Related:\u00a0How
\n Sacramento Creatives Are Redefining the Arts Economy<\/a><\/p>\n

\n \u201cI think that gathering and even community is something that I\u2019m
\n still actively building and learning how to do,\u201d says Vang, a
\n textile artist and lecturer for UC Davis\u2019 design department.
\n Vang\u2019s work centers on Hmong textile traditions. \u201cGrowing up, I
\n remember women gathering together to sew and to make and to
\n embroider together, and then finding a sense of relief through
\n being able to talk to someone that they trusted.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n The decision to create Threads of Belonging as a public mural
\n rather than a gallery installation was deliberate. Galleries can
\n be intimidating and inaccessible, Vang notes, while murals carry
\n a history of activism and belonging to communities. The planned
\n location in the heart of south Sacramento, where many Filipino,
\n Hmong and Palestinian families live, will ensure the work reaches
\n the communities it represents.\n<\/p>\n

\n As Threads of Belonging takes shape over the coming months, Oak
\n Park Sol Community Garden flourishes with new programs, and
\n Heritage Oaks Park and Birds and Benches, the Capital Region is
\n quietly building a model for a post-pandemic community. It\u2019s one
\n that honors traditional ways of being together, while meeting the
\n needs of contemporary urban life.\n<\/p>\n

\n Comstock\u2019s Editor Judy Farah contributed to this story.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u2013\n<\/p>\n

\n Stay up to date on business in the Sacramento
\n region: Subscribe to the Comstock\u2019s newsletter
\n today.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This story is part of our March 2026 issue. To read the print version, click here. …\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":232657,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-232656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232656"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232656\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/232657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}