FHCC's Mission

The Freedom & Healing Community Cohort equips BIPOC youth across the city of Richmond to address specific racial inequities in their communities. The program pairs BIPOC youth & young adults within a cohort that meets consistently with relevant racial equity practitioners in the region spanning across history, community organizing, art, trauma healing, and activism. Youth will learn trauma healing strategies for implementing wholistic racial equity solutions. Participants will expand their skillset, knowledge, & network to implement their racial equity solutions.  

The Freedom & Healing Community Cohort (FHCC) throughout the 6–8-week Cohort program will run in Spring, Summer, & Fall cycles annually. It will select a diverse group of youth demographically as well as provide diverse focus tracts based on the way youth desire to engage in the work of racial equity. This includes a deeper understanding of history & policy that has formed our city, implement public art or narrative change projects surrounding racial equity, & community access & improvement projects such as community greenspace. Throughout the process the cohorts will also be learning from the leading experts in history, advocacy, trauma healing, & art to implement elements of mental health & healing as well. From this diverse collaboration each cohort will be launching a capstone project of their choice to further racial equity within their communities.