SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — James Willock is committed to saving lives. He grew up in Sacramento's Del Paso Heights neighborhood and is no stranger to hard times.
"I want to be the type of person that I felt was lacking in my life growing up," Willock said. "Both of my parents were incarcerated by the time I was 10 years old. So, I grew up in foster care and group homes, being moved around a lot."
Willock was sentenced to 34 years to life in prison at 19 years old. He served 28 years and 10 months. Eventually, he made a change for the better.
"I started transforming my own life, first, and going to classes, getting an education and doing different things to rehabilitate myself," Willock said.
Willock soon began serving others. For more than 2 years, he's been working with Mutual Assistance Network as a community intervention worker, crisis responder, and mentor for the youth.
Mutual Assistance Network is an organization on a mission to strengthen the existing social and economic infrastructure of Del Paso Heights, Arden-Arcade and the surrounding Northern Sacramento neighborhoods.
Mutual Assistance Network also works with the Black Child Legacy Campaign (BCLC). It's a community-driven movement established by the Steering Committee on Reduction of African American Child Deaths.
The Committee was established by a resolution of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors in June 2013. It's funded by Sacramento County, the city of Sacramento and First 5 Sacramento. It's managed by The Center at Sierra Health Foundation.
The goal of the BCLC is to reduce the deaths of Black children in Sacramento County.
According to the BCLC, Black children die at twice the rate of any other race or ethnicity in Sacramento County. The four leading causes of death are perinatal conditions, infant sleep-related deaths, child abuse and neglect and third-party homicides.
Seven neighborhoods have the highest numbers of Black child deaths in the county. That includes:
- Arden-Arcade
- Del Paso Heights and North Sacramento
- Foothill Farms and North Highlands
- Fruitridge and Stockton Boulevard
- Meadowview
- Oak Park
- Valley Hi
Through the BCLC, a Community Incubator Lead organization has been established in each neighborhood. The goal is to help with prevention and intervention efforts to reduce disproportionate Black child deaths in the four causes of death.
Mutual Assistance Network is a Community Incubator Lead organization in the Arden-Arcade neighborhood. In partnership with the BCLC, Mutual Assistance Network offers several programs and services to the public, like the Healing the Hood project.
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Healing the Hood is all about decreasing community violence through comprehensive violence prevention, intervention and interruption services and resources for youth, as well as on-the-ground crisis response.
Healing the Hood staff, like Willock, have provided one-on-one case management for 373 people in the past 4 years. That includes:
- Violence prevention, intervention, and interruption
- Youth and family case management
- Mentoring and Youth Development Programs
- Job Training and Academic Enrichment Services
- Parenting Education and Family Leadership Development
- Community Service and Community Economic Development
- Truant, Suspended or Expelled student support
"I think the job title, as a crisis responder, just fit my mission and my 'why,' perfectly," Willock said.
A new report by the BCLC shows Black child deaths in Sacramento County have dropped by 30%, overall, since 2015. That's, in part, due to the dozens of programs and services offered through the Community Incubator Lead organizations. That includes:
The BCLC presented the new findings to the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday during a regular board meeting. It shows 4,765 Black residents participated in BCLC programs and services during the 2021 to 2022 year.
That includes 657 people getting intensive case management, 105 pregnant people being connected to prenatal care, 70 parents getting Safe Sleep training, 32 parents getting cribs, 3,075 youth being engaged in positive activities, and 197 youth assuming leadership roles.
Some of the programs and services provided through BCLC include the Healing the Hood project, Doula Community Health Advocate Pilot, Pregnancy Peer Support Program, Safe Sleep Baby, Trauma-Informed Wellness Program, Cultural Broker Program, and more.
Supervisor Phil Serna is an early advocate of the BCLC. In 2011, Serna convened the Blue Ribbon Commission on Disproportionate African American Child Deaths. That's because he was concerned to learn that Black children die at disproportional rates compared to other children in the county. The Commission was an effort to take immediate action to solve the problem.
Serna says although Black child deaths have recently decreased, more work is needed to protect all Black children, families and communities. That's because the BCLC report shows:
- Infant perinatal conditions were reduced by 4% but increased by 2% in the disparity gap.
- Infant-safe sleep issues were reduced by 54%, with a 60% reduction in the disparity gap.
- Child abuse and neglect were reduced by 85%, with a 93% reduction in the disparity gap.
- Third-party homicide was reduced by 22%, with a 2% reduction in the disparity gap.
"Sacramento County should not be known as a place where, because of the neighborhood you live in, or the color of your skin, or your ethnic background, you have less likelihood to survive," Serna said. "We still have work to do. Perinatal deaths are not where they should be. They should be dropping precipitously, and they're not."
Willock agrees. He says BCLC needs more support to ensure the safety and well-being of the Black youth and communities.
"We still need more funding," Willock said. "We still need more programs because one baby dead is too many."
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