“As I finish my tenure as Surgeon General, this is my parting prescription, my final wish for all of us: choose community.” - Dr. Vivek Hallegere Murthy, 19th & 21st Surgeon General of the United States Vice Admiral, U.S. Public Health Service,My Parting Prescription for America, January 7, 2025
Community takes care of everyone. Sustainable healing happens in a circle. The Alexandria People's Assembly is what it means to "choose community", and here's why:
The Northern Virginia Health Foundation June 2023 Dying Too Soon Report found the risk of dying before age 75 depends on race, ethnicity, & address. Black/African Alexandrians are 117% more likely to die before age 75 than their white neighbors.
Seven of the NVFH Fifteen "Islands of Disadvantage" mapped across Northern Virginia are in Alexandria City and the Richmond Highway area of Fairfax County.
Another community where native Black Alexandrians settled after being displaced, is Woodbridge, which sits in an additional “Island.”
The Alexandria People's Assembly (formerly PLTI of Alexandria) is building community and empowering civic advocacy by prioritizing efforts to disrupt systemic oppression, while fostering unity to make life better for children and families across Alexandria and Northern Virginia.
We focus on culturally competent mental health, community education, and civic engagement initiatives to establish a just, loving, and sustainable world. We have graduated over 200 parent advocates from our civic advocacy and leadership skills training program. Our work is centered on the belief that youth, parents and caring adults do not lack the desire to advocate, and given the tools, they are the most powerful and effective voices for change. Our program initiatives are directly aligned with the U.S. Surgeon General prescription and NVHF report recommendations.
Program Initiatives The Alexandria People's Assembly is Building Community and Empowering Advocacy through: ● Problem Solving and Civic Engagement at Alexandria People's Assemblies ● Culturally Competent Mental Health Advocacy and Continuing Education Training in Optimal Psychology ● Community Education ● Community Wellness Series ● Calling for an African American Wellness Hub
The ongoing work of the Alexandria People's Assembly is grounded in an Optimal Conceptual Worldview, and associated African psychological cultural wellness methodologies, as defined by Distinguished Psychologists and founder of Optimal Psychology, Dr. Linda James Myers.
The PLTI Alexandria People’s Assembly is calling for an African American Wellness Hub in Alexandria to recognize and effectively address systemic racism, and the immediate health needs of Black/African people in the City of Alexandria.
Read our 2023 call, the U.S. Surgeon General's prescription, and the full NVHF report below.
Dying Too Soon: In Northern Virginia, The Risk of Dying Before Age 75 Depends on Race, Ethnicity, and Address. Click here to get the full report from NVHF