Bay Area

Setting Down Healthy ‘Roots’ in Oakland

The main office is located at 9925 International Blvd., Oakland, CA, 94603 and they can be reached by calling 510-777-1177.

Published

4 years ago

July 23, 2021

Christy Price

Roots Health Center located at 7272 MacArthur Blvd. in East Oakland. Photo courtesy of Roots Community Health Center website.

What began as a program with the primary focus on the needs of men re-entering society from prison, or who have mental health and substance abuse issues and young single fathers without a traditional support system has grown deep Roots in the Oakland community.

Roots Community Health Center now provides community members and college students not only the high-quality, comprehensive health care they deserve to live a healthy life but also valuable referrals such as help with employment, housing, food, diapers, internet and more so that people can focus on their dreams without jumping over hurdles.

Roots opened in 2008 to address the troubling health issues in East Oakland. The organizers envision a nation “where all communities of African descent are resilient, healthy, self-sufficient and self-determined,” according to their website. Like the root system of the oak trees that line the streets of Oakland, Roots has also been growing and taking hold throughout the Greater Bay Area.

Roots now has locations in Berkeley, Oakland, and San Jose and offices in more cities are just around the corner. The main office is located at 9925 International Blvd., Oakland, CA, 94603 and they can be reached by calling 510-777-1177. Visit the Roots website for more information and locations.

Peralta College students with valid student ID can seek Roots services at any of the campuses at Laney, Merritt, Berkeley City College and the College of Alameda.

One of the most important services that Roots provides is the power of home and facility-based care to the uninsured and underinsured. Health and mental health services are provided on-site at re-entry programs, transitional housing, rehabilitation facilities and patient residences located in Oakland. This eliminates the need for transportation on the client’s part, a problem for a lot of people in East Oakland.

Roots is always looking for volunteers to fill a variety of needs which can help enrich both community life as well as the volunteer’s life. Check out the positions Roots needs to fill here.

Christy Price

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Oakland Post: Week of February 26 – March 4, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of February 26 – March 4, 2025

Published

8 hours ago

February 28, 2025

Oakland Post

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Oakland Post: Week of February 19 – 25, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of February 19 – 25, 2025

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7 days ago

February 22, 2025

Oakland Post

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U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Lateefah Simon to Speak at Elihu Harris Lecture Series

The popular lecture series is co-produced by the Oakland-based Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Peralta Community College District. Jeffries’ appearance marks the 32nd lecture of the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series, which has provided thousands of individuals with accessible, free, high-quality information.

Published

1 week ago

February 19, 2025

Oakland Post

U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (left) and Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) (Right).

By Scott Horton

United States House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-8) will be a speaker at the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series on Friday, Feb. 21.

The event will be held at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts, 10 Tenth Street in Oakland, at 7 p.m.

The popular lecture series is co-produced by the Oakland-based Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Peralta Community College District. Jeffries’ appearance marks the 32^nd lecture of the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series, which has provided thousands of individuals with accessible, free, high-quality information.

The overarching goal of the lecture series is to provide speakers from diverse backgrounds a platform to offer their answers to Dr. King’s urgent question, which is also the title of Jeffries’ latest book: “Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community?”

In addition to Jeffries, Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) will also speak.

“Certainly, now is a time for humanity, in general, and Americans in particular to honestly and genuinely answer Dr. King’s question,” said Dr. Roy D. Wilson, Executive Director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Executive Producer of the lecture series.

“Dr. King teaches that time is neutral but not static. Like the water in a river, it arrives and then quickly moves on,” continued Wilson. “We must urgently create conditions for listening to many different answers to this vital question, and generate the development of unity of action among all those who struggle for a stronger democracy.”

In his book, Jeffries shares his experience of being unanimously elected by his colleagues as the first African American in history to ever hold the position of House Minority Leader.

In January 2023 in Washington, Jeffries made his first official speech as House Minority Leader. He affirmed Democratic values one letter of the alphabet at a time. His words and how he framed them as the alphabet caught the attention of Americans, and the speech was later turned into a book, The ABCs of Democracy, bringing Congressman Jeffries rousing speech to vivid, colorful life, including illustrations by Shaniya Carrington. The speech and book are inspiring and urgent as a timeless reminder of what it means to be a country with equal opportunities for all. Jeffries paints a road map for a brighter American future and warns of the perils of taking a different path.

Before his colleagues unanimously elected him Minority Leader in 2022, Jeffries previously served as Chair of the House Democratic Caucus and as an Impeachment Manager during the first Senate trial of the 45th President of the United States.

Jeffries was born in Brooklyn Hospital, raised in Crown Heights, grew up in the Cornerstone Baptist Church and he is a product of New York City’s public school system, graduating from Midwood High School. Jefferies went on to Binghamton University (BA), Georgetown University (master’s in public policy) and New York University (JD).

He served in the New York State Assembly from 2007 to 2012.

Admission is free for the Feb. 21 Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series featuring Congressman Jeffries. Please reserve seats by calling the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center at (510) 434-3988.

Signed copies of his book will be available for purchase at the event.