The Transforming Community Initiative (TCI) project is an innovative and visionary grassroots community funding and technical assistance program, with funding from the Trinity Health network in partnership with Holy Cross Health. It’s goal is to promote “systemic change” in the communities we serve, including community-based organizations and residents to advance health equity in ours most vulnerable communities. Our project, Racial Equity Advancing Community Health (REACH), works with community members, leaders and organizations to address historic, systemic racism and racial inequities as they impact health access and the nutritional status and food security of the Sistrunk
community in Ft. Lauderdale, Broward County.
The Community Remembers
How the Decline of Black-Owned Businesses Affects Food Access in Sistrunk: Veronica’s Story
Growing up, Veronica remembers Sistrunk as a bustling marketplace, the Mecca of Black entrepreneurship. “We had everything…”
I Am Sistrunk. Says Who? Lorenzar’s story
Lorenzar doesn’t waste time on pleasantries. After hello, he gets right to the point. “So where is Sistrunk anyway? And who lives there? Cuz I live in Ft. Lauderdale off Sixth Street.”
What Was Lost and What Remains: Aretha’s Sistrunk
Hearing about a neighborhood’s decline is one thing. Seeing it, block by block, through the eyes of someone who loves it—that’s something else entirely. First stop—Tater Town. Or at least, what’s left of it.
The Illusion of Progress: David’s Story
David has lived in Broward County long enough to know that progress depends on who is telling the story.
From Scarcity to Strength: Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner Pamela Beasley-Pittman’s Bold Vision for Sistrunk’s Future
”This isn’t just a food desert—it’s food apartheid. Deserts form naturally. This? This is by design.