{"id":310788,"date":"2026-05-11T20:18:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T20:18:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/310788\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T20:18:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T20:18:15","slug":"the-women-who-refuse-to-give-up-on-sacramentos-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/310788\/","title":{"rendered":"The Women Who Refuse To Give Up On Sacramento\u2019s Children"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-wisiwig-body1=\"true\" class=\"txtStyle_body1 mb_$body1\">\u201cThat is massive,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p data-wisiwig-body1=\"true\" class=\"txtStyle_body1 mb_$body1\">The campaign also has helped launch initiatives such as a culturally tailored safe-sleep program for infants, now integrated across Sacramento\u2019s health care systems.<\/p>\n<p data-wisiwig-body1=\"true\" class=\"txtStyle_body1 mb_$body1\">For many involved, the campaign is more than a job; it\u2019s a calling.<\/p>\n<p data-wisiwig-body1=\"true\" class=\"txtStyle_body1 mb_$body1\">\u201cThis is sacred work. It\u2019s ministry,\u201d says Danielle Lawrence, director of Mutual Assistance Network, a community incubator lead partner in Arden-Arcade since the launch of the program.<\/p>\n<p data-wisiwig-body1=\"true\" class=\"txtStyle_body1 mb_$body1\">Lawrence says the campaign represents the county\u2019s accountability.<\/p>\n<p data-wisiwig-body1=\"true\" class=\"txtStyle_body1 mb_$body1\">\u201cIt\u2019s what Sacramento owes the Black population,\u201d she says. \u201cNo one should be OK with that disparity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-wisiwig-body1=\"true\" class=\"txtStyle_body1 mb_$body1\">The work focuses on prevention by addressing root causes such as housing instability, economic hardship, and mental health issues.<\/p>\n<p data-wisiwig-body1=\"true\" class=\"txtStyle_body1 mb_$body1\">\u201cWe\u2019re not just service providers,\u201d Simmons says. \u201cWe\u2019re offering a hand up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-wisiwig-body1=\"true\" class=\"txtStyle_body1 mb_$body1\">Despite progress, leaders say the challenges facing Black families remain significant.<\/p>\n<p data-wisiwig-body1=\"true\" class=\"txtStyle_body1 mb_$body1\">Housing costs, job instability, and cuts to public funding continue straining families.<\/p>\n<p data-wisiwig-body1=\"true\" class=\"txtStyle_body1 mb_$body1\">Even as outcomes improve, gaps remain, which leaders say stresses the need for continual investment.<\/p>\n<p>Looking Ahead<img alt=\"From left, \u200b\u200bKim Williams, Danielle Lawrence and Jedida Gomes outside of the Black Child Legacy Campaign office April 24.\" aria-hidden=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1066\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"max-w_$full max-h_[50vh] obj-fit_contain d_block mx_[auto]\" style=\"color:transparent\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/asset_83cd7cc0-405d-40ce-b966-22c2b8aec4dd.jpg\"\/>From left, \u200b\u200bKim Williams, Danielle Lawrence and Jedida Gomes outside of the Black Child Legacy Campaign office April 24.Russell Stiger Jr., OBSERVER<\/p>\n<p data-wisiwig-body1=\"true\" class=\"txtStyle_body1 mb_$body1\">The campaign is expanding to an eighth site in Rancho Cordova, working to reach more families. But in the long term, leaders say the goal is bigger than growth.<\/p>\n<p data-wisiwig-body1=\"true\" class=\"txtStyle_body1 mb_$body1\">\u201cOur goal is not to need this campaign,\u201d Simmons says. \u201cOur goal is for us to be able to work ourselves out of a job.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-wisiwig-body1=\"true\" class=\"txtStyle_body1 mb_$body1\">Until then, the work continues, driven by the women leading it and the families they serve.<\/p>\n<p data-wisiwig-body1=\"true\" class=\"txtStyle_body1 mb_$body1\">For Parks, the impact is already clear.<\/p>\n<p data-wisiwig-body1=\"true\" class=\"txtStyle_body1 mb_$body1\">\u201cI feel like it\u2019s a family,\u201d she says. \u201cI feel like I have found a sense of community and belonging.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThat is massive,\u201d she says. The campaign also has helped launch initiatives such as a culturally tailored safe-sleep&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":310789,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[130381,122427,1011,121,123,122],"class_list":["post-310788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-black-youth","tag-child-welfare-system","tag-housing","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310788","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=310788"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310788\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/310789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=310788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=310788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}