Partnerships for Community Wellness

04/17/2026

It’s the final day of Black Maternal Health Week, but this is not where our advocacy ends.

If we truly want Black birthing people to have joyful birthing and parenting experiences, we must all get activated.

Here are some ways you can get involved:

Invest in organizations leading the charge, like the Black Mamas Matter Alliance (blackmamasmatter.org).

Reach out to info@partnerships.nyc to learn more about Staten Island-based public health efforts, or to join the SI Birth Justice Defenders (BJD).

Download and use the IRTH app (irthapp.com) to share your birthing experiences so that other birthing people know where they will—or won’t—find good care.

04/16/2026

It’s Day 6 of Black Maternal Health Week!

Today is all about highlighting the resistance, resilience, joy, and possibility of Black birthing people. In honor of this important theme, Partnerships held a powerful conversation with a diverse group of Black women across various personal, professional, and civic roles on Staten Island and beyond to talk about these issues and ways that Black birthing people could access resources and find support.

Dr. Jazmin Rivera, Chief Program & Strategy Officer of Partnerships, is joined by the following:
Nija Howard, Senior Director of Strategy and Operations of NYC Her Future
Brittany Waddy, Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Dr. Grace Feyijinmi, Clinical Psychologist
Constance Brown-Bellamy, Chief of Strategy of the SI Perinatal Network

Brittany Waddy, LCSW, is also accepting new virtual therapy clients for teens and adults in NYC and NYS. If you are interested in learning more, find her on Headway, Alma, or Psychology Today, or contact her at bwaddylcsw.gmail.com.

Dr. Grace is accepting clients as well. Visit newheightspsychologicalservices.com.

04/15/2026

The perinatal workforce describes providers who are trained to deliver care to birthing people during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period. This category includes providers like doulas, midwives, and lactation professionals. For Black birthing people, data demonstrates that a culturally congruent perinatal workforce—having professionals who look like you—improves maternal outcomes.

What is a doula, midwife, or lactation professional? They are all very different, and important members of a birthing person’s care team. Doulas provide physical and emotional support to birthing people and their families. Midwives are highly trained healthcare providers who can provide care to birthing people during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum. Lactation professionals support birthing people in breastfeeding/chestfeeding before and after birth.

If you are a birthing person, learn more about these providers and get them on your care team.

Citations:
https://dona.org/what-is-a-doula/
https://www.who.int/teams/maternal-newborn-child-adolescent-health-and-ageing/maternal-health/midwifery
PNAS, 2020

04/14/2026

It’s Day 4 of Black Maternal Health Week 2026

Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders, or PMADs, are the most common complications of pregnancy and childbirth. PMADs include common conditions like depression and anxiety, as well as less common conditions like postpartum psychosis.

Despite being more likely to develop these perinatal mental health conditions, Black birthing people are less likely to get treatment for a PMAD.

Here on Staten Island, overdose and su***de are common causes of death for birthing people. No one should die from these treatable, preventable crises.

We need to remove barriers to getting mental health and substance use care, and support birthing people to reduce stress.

04/13/2026

Day 3 of Black Maternal Health Week and we are focusing on menopause!

The end of the menstrual health spectrum is an important part of Black maternal health that doesn’t get talked about enough.

Black women have an earlier onset of menopause and endure it longer, all while reporting more intense symptoms, like hot flashes. . They are also less likely to receive certain treatments, such as hormone therapy, than white women.

Black women need access to specialized healthcare treatments, especially hormone replacement therapy during menopause.



Citations:
https://www.joinmidi.com/post/black-women-and-menopause
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12808571/
Kochersberger, 2024
Conklin et al., 2024

04/12/2026

Black women’s health matters and in many cases, they have worse health outcomes than other races. Health conditions like uterine and cervical cancers and fibroids can be higher among Black women and cause additional harm like higher rates of death, hospitalization, and surgery.

It is important that Black women have access to high quality healthcare providers who listen to and act on their concerns. Uterine & cervical cancers are treatable, especially if caught early.

Citations:
(Source: CDC, 2025)

04/11/2026

It’s Black Maternal Health Week 2026! This year’s theme, Rooted in Justice and Joy, reminds us to center the needs of Black Birthing people.

Nation-wide, Black birthing people are 3.5 x times more likely to die due to pregnancy and birth-related complications than their white counterparts. Locally, Staten Island had the second-highest pregnancy-associated mortality rate of all the NYC boroughs from 2018-2022. These facts are alarming.

BUT, there is still room for joy, and to celebrate the resilience of Black communities in the perinatal period.

Stay tuned all week for content highlighting the needs of Black Birthing people.

03/30/2026

Thank you to the partners who helped shape our TYSA behavioral health policy agenda and the electeds who joined us to understand the issues and rolled up their sleeves to discuss solutions.

“Even the loss of one life is a shameful failure of the government to fulfill its obligation to society."

10/03/2025

Happening Tomorrow! Please consider supporting the coalition!

Donations can be made via https://buy.stripe.com/3cIdR8cbXfKIb2ndJG9sk07

What will your donation to TYSA support? Here we are, and this is the work we do!Donate to TYSA! Adjust item quantities as needed. https://buy.stripe.com/5kQ...

08/20/2025

Join us next Wednesday for our very first event “Honoring Black Breastfeeding Week and Overdose Awareness Day”! We will have resources, raffle, trainings and more. It’s a free event open to the entire community. 🤱🏾

05/15/2025

Heat illness doesn’t always look dramatic.
It can start with a headache. Dizziness. Feeling “off.”
In NYC, it happens every summer—and too often behind closed doors.
This is your reminder to learn the signs now so you can act fast when it counts.
🚨 nyc.gov/beattheheat