Community Engagement

On February 12, 2025, more than 100 young people and dozens of local leaders and decision-makers, including elected officials, law enforcement, public health professionals, and community service providers, came together for Student Voices, a youth empowerment project of Impact Sac. Student Voices is designed to engage Sacramento-area students as “teen experts” and connect them to people in positions of influence who collectively have the resources to enact positive, youth-centered solutions to teen health, safety, and wellness issues.

On May 23, 2024, more than 100 young people and dozens of local leaders and decision makers, including elected officials, law enforcement, public health professionals, and community service providers, came together for Student Voices, a youth empowerment project of Impact Sac. Student Voices is designed to engage Sacramento-area students as “teen experts” and connect them to people in positions of influence who collectively have the resources to enact positive, youth-centered solutions to teen health, safety, and wellness issues.

The Yolo County Health and Human Services Agency collaborated with the UC Davis Center for Regional Change and Rose Kagawa, PhD, MPH, from our team for evaluation of the Yolo County Basic Income (YOBI) pilot project. Learn more about the YOBI pilot project.

UC Davis Health is opening the first comprehensive trauma recovery center in Sacramento. The UC Davis CAARE Diagnostic and Treatment Center will establish the new center this summer, thanks to a nearly $1.2 million grant from the California Victim Compensation Board. CAARE stands for Child and Adolescent Abuse Resource and Evaluation.

In this issue: This week is National Public Health Week. Each day within National Public Health Week has a specific theme. Today’s focus is “Healthy Neighborhoods.” This is particularly important because where we live, work, and play can significantly affect our health and safety:  

On March 30, 2023, more than 100 young people and dozens of local leaders and decision makers, including elected officials, law enforcement, public health professionals, and community service providers, came together for Student Voices, an empowerment project of Impact Sac.

Nicole Kravitz-Wirtz, PhD, MPH, and Shani Buggs, PhD, MPH, co-wrote an evaluation report alongside Christy Adams, PhD, MPH, RN and Ian Brown, MD, PhD on the UC Davis Medical Center (UCDMC) Wraparound Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program. 

Once again, the headlines are dominated by a gruesome mass shooting, this time resulting in the deaths of 19 school children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, right on the heels of the white supremacist attack in a Buffalo, New York supermarket that killed 10 people. Public mass shootings have profound impacts on survivors, families, and communities of victims, and the wider public's feelings of safety.

“Gun violence is reportedly happening at levels many cities have not seen in decades. In New York City, police reported a 16% rise in shooting incidents between March 2021 and March 2022.

“As a public health researcher and the leader of the nation’s largest community development organization, we are making an urgent call for locally led, anti-racist approaches to stopping the gunfire that for years has ripped through our communities...” Continue reading