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.
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.
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.”
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
Alexandria People's Assembly Structural Solutions
The ongoing work of the PLTI Alexandria People's Assembly is a specific, local, Black-led, community-based solution. Our focus on structural racial justice and mental health support is grounded in an Optimal Conceptual Worldview as defined by Distinguished Psychologists and founder of Optimal Psychology, Dr. Linda James Myers. Optimal Psychology, and associated African psychological cultural wellness methodologies, are directly aligned with NVHF report recommendations.