Black Press
Street Medicine Brings Care to Unhoused Angelenos — But Housing Remains the Missing Prescription
BAKERSFIELD NEWS OBSERVER — Mobile street medicine teams treat the immediate health needs of the unhoused, but barriers to care, trauma, stigma and housing costs can leave the underlying causes of homelessness unresolved.
Marion Apio reported this story while participating in the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism’s 2026 California Health Equity Fellowship
By the time a street medicine team met Alfred Flores last June along the Los Angeles River , two spider bites on his back had swollen with infection,untreated for three days.
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Divorced a year ago, the 53-year-old had been living along the riverbank for three years without a car or phone, making it difficult to connect with housing programs or reach a doctor as the infected wounds worsened with redness, heat, pus and pain.
On her weekly outreach along the L.A. River, Bukola Olusanya—a nurse practitioner and a street medicine provider with St. John’s Community Health—examined Flores on-site and wrote a prescription for antibiotics.
“My wound is infected,” Flores said in Spanish through an interpreter. “It is normal to be bitten by a spider in this area but I need help finding a home.”
Flores’s experience highlights the steep barriers to receiving housing support and providing medical care among people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles. Many cannot access care because of physical or mental health conditions, or can’t connect to housing programs because they often lack a phone.
Traditional health care systems often require patients to have transportation, identification, a safe place to store medications and the ability to make follow-up appointments — barriers that can be difficult to overcome for people surviving on the streets.
Street medicine helps people whatever their circumstances
Street medicine challenges the traditional notion that health care must begin inside a medical facility, extending services to those in non-traditional settings and in urgent need.
These teams shift the delivery model by bringing health care directly to patients on the streets, rather than waiting for them to seek treatment in hospitals or clinics. They provide critical care that can stabilize health conditions while helping patients connect with benefits, housing and other services.
Jessica Sanchez, director of the Street Medicine team at St. John’s Community Health, said the program receives about $500,000 annually from L.A. Care Health Plan, $365,000 from the Federal Health Resources and Services Administration and $100,000 from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. The team also bills Medi-Cal for eligible medical services, though not all patients are insured or eligible for reimbursement.
Sanchez said the program’s grants typically run for three to five years, providing funding stability. The “street medicine initiative is not currently facing a funding threat,” she said.
Since 2023, St. John’s Community Health—a network of non-profit, federally qualified health centers—has deployed a multidisciplinary street medicine unit in Los Angeles. The mobile vans are staffed by a nurse practitioner, a medical assistant, a health benefits counselor, a community health worker, a behavioral health clinician, a substance abuse counselor and a driver.
The teams provides primary care, behavioral health, and benefits enrollment on the streets, reducing administrative hurdles to head off medical emergencies and reach unsheltered patients.
Primary care and connections are what street medicine can do best
The teams work Monday through Friday and serve around 320 patients a month.
They treat acute wounds, manage chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension, conduct field blood draws, dispense medications, and connect patients to housing resources through the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s Coordinated Entry System.
“Three years ago when we had just started street medicine it was with one team and one provider,” Olusanya said. “But with the increasing demand—especially after COVID—the team doubled everything.”
Deploying two teams is not enough without building trust with unhoused patients, Olusanya said, a lesson she learned on the beat.
While street medicine often can stabilize chronic conditions on the pavement, clinicians stress that field care is a vital shield, not a permanent solution. Without a locked door or a refrigerator to store insulin, medical intervention only acts as a Band-Aid while patients remain trapped in what can be seemingly endless housing queues.
Tanny Hernandez, 45, and her husband, Benwell Hernandez, 35, spent over three years living on the streets. They are now living in a temporary shelter in downtown Los Angeles.
Struggling to manage diabetes without refrigerated insulin
Until they encountered the St. John’s street medicine team, Tanny struggled to manage diabetes without a refrigerator to store her insulin, along with experiencing grand mal seizures and bone disease that forced her to use a wheelchair.
“My sugar levels were crazy—I mean, in the 400 range,” Tanny said. “I can’t be in direct sunlight, so I mean, everything was bad and it was going downhill.”
The American Diabetes Association recommends a premeal blood glucose target of 80 to 130 mg/dL for most nonpregnant adults with diabetes.
When unsheltered Angelenos seek traditional hospital care, they often face health struggles while navigating trauma from administrative hurdles and aggressive security in environments that can feel hostile rather than welcoming.
“While it may be tempting to think that mental health disorders or substance use cause homelessness, there is stronger evidence that the reverse is true,” said Kathryn Leifheit, an assistant professor of Health Policy and Management at the University of California, Los Angeles. “When people become homeless, housing insecurity causes severe mental strain that worsens health conditions over time.”
Homelessness remains at a crisis level in Southern California, mirroring national trends, Leifheit said. The insufficient supply of affordable housing puts many people at risk.
A rent increase can tip people already in crisis into homelessness, experts say
“When rents are high relative to incomes, any economic shock, life event, sudden illness or major bill can put someone at risk of becoming homeless,” Leifheit said.
This crisis carries a stark racial dimension. Black residents make up less than 10% of Los Angeles County’s population but accounted for about one-third of people experiencing homelessness in the Los Angeles Continuum of Care’s 2026 count, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. The Continuum of Care is a federally designated network that coordinates homeless services and housing programs.
The count identified 21,822 Black people experiencing homelessness. Street medicine is an important way to access care for unhoused people of color, with 25% of street medicine patients identifying as Black and 23% identifying as Latino, according to the California Health Care Foundation.
“Black Americans have much lower family wealth and they’re much less likely to own their house because of redlining,” said Margot Kushel, Director of the UC San Francisco Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative. She points as a key contributor to “generations and generations of anti-Black racism and other ways to extract Black Americans out of the home ownership market.”
When Rayshawn Whittenburg, a 20-year-old Black Angeleno, encountered Olusanya and her team, she had spent six months on the streets with a high-risk pregnancy.
She was under the team’s care before her newborn inhaled amniotic fluid at birth, sending the infant to neonatal intensive care for two weeks. The baby was later released from the hospital into the care of Whittenburg’s mother.
“A stark racial dimension” to homelessness for Black Angelenos
Whittenburg’s experience highlights the severe maternal health disparities documented across Los Angeles County, where Black mothers and infants experience disproportionately high rates of life-threatening complications and mortality. For those surviving on the street, homelessness adds severe environmental stress and care delays to an already perilous baseline.
Whittenburg said she returned to the streets after losing her interim housing placement at the Los Angeles Inn because she did not realize that failing to remain continuously at the shelter would cost her a bed.
“I really keep to myself most of the time,” Whittenburg said. “I don’t really like people because it’s always drama.”
Olusanya noted that unsheltered patients routinely face judgment from healthcare providers based on their appearance or assumptions about drug use – preconceived notions she pushes back against, as most of her patients are not on the street because of addiction.
“One huge misconception is that unhoused folks are also inherently dangerous,” said Carol Ross, assistant director of Santa Monica outreach for The People Concern, a nonprofit that provides housing and supportive services. “Statistically speaking, folks with serious mental illness are much more of a danger to themselves than to others.”
After seven years of sobriety, Teff Ejigu, 37, is back on the streets navigating severe health and housing challenges.
Ejigu, who describes himself as a political science graduate, said he became unhoused after past triggers contributed to a relapse. He lost his housing six months ago and currently lacks a phone and essential documents to access benefits or housing such as a state ID and Social Security card.
“You know, we can’t give up,” Ejigu said. “I’m hoping that after I get back on my feet, I’ll be able to use this place as a launching pad to restarting my career and getting back to school.”
Navigating housing applications can be complicated and stressful
Beyond missing paperwork, navigating public benefit systems requires administrative literacy.
“There are resources out there, but you have to speak a special language to fill out all these forms,” Ross said. “People who don’t access public benefits have no idea how challenging it is. It’s like a full-time job.”
The main operational challenge for street medicine teams remains patient follow-up. Without phones or fixed addresses, patients are frequently lost to care, especially when encampments are cleared by the city. Olusanya said clinicians also encounter administrative barriers when trying to connect patients with services
Ross noted similar systemic limitations when patients face acute conditions, describing one unhoused individual struggling to receive cancer treatment—a case far more complex than treating a spider bite.
“In terms of getting folks connected to primary care, it works well, but there’s a lot of work to do in terms of linking people to higher levels of care,” Ross said.
“There’s definitely a need to be sure that street medicine is age friendly, that it has the workforce trained to deal with the unique needs of older adults…” Kushel said.
Local leaders should foot the bill for more street medicine teams, providers say
Some providers say city and county leaders could do more to strengthen mobile street units and cut red tape for permanent housing placements.
The Inglewood mayor’s office said the city is using federal, state and local funding to support affordable and supportive housing, including project-based vouchers and permanent supportive housing.”
The city said it is tracking 600 affordable units in various stages of predevelopment and monitoring about 46 existing density-bonus affordable units.
Roberto Chavez, HUD programs manager for the City of Inglewood, said the city is not equipped or funded to deploy mobile medical responses directly.
“I don’t think the city is equipped to deploy those resources because that’s more a function of the county or the state,” Chavez said. “We don’t have street medicine workers. That’s not something we receive funding for.”
Chavez noted that federal funding constraints continue to impact municipal budgets as housing costs outpace federal allocations.
“Every year costs go up for housing, right, and so the budget authority that we’re allocated from the federal government is not keeping up with that allocation,” Chavez said.
Off the streets, the next hurdle is going from temporary to permanent housing
The transition from temporary beds to permanent housing remains a challenge across the region. Across Los Angeles, the county identified the shortage of affordable permanent housing as the biggest barrier to moving people from interim to permanent housing.
“Healthcare is a human right. Just because somebody is living in an alley doesn’t mean that they don’t deserve to have a doctor who understands them,” said Ross.
“We only see some of them once or twice a week, so that’s the gap that we have,” Olusanya said of unhoused patients. “Cities have a bigger role to play. They have to provide the safety net that is needed by residents.” Health experts said when consistent clinical rapport and trust are established, street medicine can serve as a vital bridge to care.
“Street medicine doesn’t end homelessness. It is trying to keep people alive and safe while they’re homeless,” Kushel said. The street medicine team continues to care for Tanny and Benwell Hernandez, who live in temporary housing in downtown Los Angeles through the Inside Safe program. When Tanny cannot reach a pharmacy, the team delivers her medication directly to her door.
Regular health care “saved us,” one newly housed patient says
Benwell is studying to become a peer educator while the couple works to secure permanent housing. Still, their future remains uncertain.
Tanny said her biggest fear is waiting in temporary housing for six months only to end up back on the street.
Unlike patients living on the riverbank or sidewalk, Tanny can now benefit from reliable follow-up care because she now has a fixed address.
“We were at the point of giving up, but this program saved us,” Tanny said. “With what they do for me, my whole body—like my internal system—feels like it’s slowly getting better.”
Marion Apio
Marion Apio is a multimedia journalist from Uganda currently based in Inglewood reporting for the Observer Group Newspaper of Southern California in Los Angeles. She pursued journalism to make information more accessible—especially for underserved communities like the one she grew up in. Her reporting focuses on access to basic resources necessary to advance human rights, education, health and with a strong interest in solutions journalism that highlights working models addressing community-level challenges.
She is a California Local News Fellow, USC California Health Equity Fellow and Widening the Pipeline Fellow with National Press Foundation. Marion has reported for Richmond Confidential, Oakland North, Bloomberg, and has also worked with the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley on issues related to journalist safety and human rights.
Black History
Don’t Pass the Torch. Expand the Circle.
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. is redefining mentorship by empowering undergraduate women to take active roles in high-level organizational governance. Instead of asking young leaders to wait their turn, the sorority is integrating students like Noah M.P. Harris into international boards and planning committees alongside seasoned veterans like Dr. Tonja L. Ringgold. This intergenerational model aims to combat professional burnout and systemic barriers by offering meaningful responsibility and guidance today, rather than in the distant future, to learn how this approach is transforming leadership. read more.
On Nov. 14, hundreds of undergraduate women gathering at Morgan State University in Baltimore for Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority’s Undergraduate Leadership Institute will do more than listen to presentations. They will run the program. Graduate advisers will take seats in the back of the room.
This is intentional. Too many institutions invite young people to observe leadership without trusting them to exercise it. We believe the future of leadership depends not on one generation stepping aside for another, but on generations sharing responsibility now.
We have seen the difference from two vantage points.
For Dr. Ringgold, Morgan State is where that journey began. Initiated into Alpha Kappa Alpha’s Alpha Delta Chapter in 1982, she recently reunited with two sorority sisters who guided her as an undergraduate, including a former chapter president whose example still informs her leadership today. Forty-four years later, she returns as director of the sorority’s North Atlantic Region, keenly aware of what it means when someone invests in a young woman’s potential. The homecoming carries added significance: Alpha Delta, chartered in 1926, is celebrating its centennial; and the chapter that shaped her is still helping shape new leaders.
For Ms. Harris, leadership is not a distant destination. She is a Bowie State University senior and president of its Eta Chapter who, this summer, was elected Alpha Kappa Alpha’s International Second Vice President. As an undergraduate member of the sorority’s international governing board, she carries student perspectives into decisions affecting the organization. A 2025 Leadership Fellows experience encouraged her to seek that larger platform. To her, leadership is measured by the people she can serve, not simply the position she holds.
Our experiences challenge a familiar assumption: Young people must wait their turn. Founded in 1908 by Black college women, Alpha Kappa Alpha now counts more than 390,000 initiated members across more than 1,122 chapters. That reach brings a responsibility to open doors, not merely preserve tradition.
Deloitte’s 2026 global survey found that 76% of Gen Z respondents were interested in pursuing senior leadership roles eventually, although only 6% of surveyed Gen Z and millennials named leadership their primary career goal. Many cited burnout, excessive responsibility and work-life balance as concerns. Young people are not necessarily avoiding leadership. They are questioning the conditions under which it is exercised.
At a time when companies are pulling back on women’s advancement, Black women face persistent barriers. McKinsey and LeanIn.Org’s 2025 report found that among companies studied, only 60 Black women were promoted to manager for every 100 men. Telling young women to wait their turn cannot fix an unequal pathway to leadership.
Experience matters. Seasoned leaders carry institutional memory, hard-won judgment and relationships that take years to build. But experience cannot develop in a waiting room. Young leaders need meaningful assignments, honest guidance and room to make mistakes. Experienced leaders must also be prepared to reconsider familiar ways of doing things.
We see that exchange in our own relationship. Ms. Harris draws on Dr. Ringgold’s decades of sorority service and higher education experience. Dr. Ringgold listens when Ms. Harris speaks, recognizing that younger perspectives can challenge assumptions and reveal better approaches. Neither of us has all the answers. Both of us have something to contribute.
Our upcoming Undergraduate Leadership Institute will put that principle into practice. Undergraduate members will lead, with graduate members offering guidance and expertise. We’re taking the same approach in planning our 96th North Atlantic Regional Conference, scheduled for March 2027, where undergraduate counterparts will work alongside graduate vice chairs in operations, programming, social activities and logistics. They’ll help plan an event serving the entire region, not just their undergraduate peers.
That is the distinction between inclusion and influence. A seat at the table means little if the people invited cannot help determine what happens there.
Businesses, colleges, nonprofits and civic organizations can do the same. Pair mentorship with meaningful assignments. Involve emerging leaders in decisions before those decisions are final. Give them resources and room to grow. When they challenge a familiar practice, ask whether it still serves its purpose.
We should not ask experienced leaders to disappear or young leaders to wait. The goal isn’t to pass the torch and walk away. It’s to expand the circle of people empowered to lead and build stronger institutions together.
Dr. Tonja L. Ringgold is the North Atlantic Regional Director of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Noah M.P. Harris, a senior at Bowie State University, is the sorority’s International Second Vice President and president of its Eta Chapter.
Black Press
Kids on Campus: Success in Learning Together
The Association of Community College Trustees and the National Head Start Association have released the second annual report for Kids on Campus, an initiative placing Head Start classrooms directly on college campuses. With nearly 20 percent of U.S. undergraduates raising children, the program addresses childcare barriers that often prevent degree completion. The project aims to establish 50 partnerships by 2030 to support two-generation economic mobility. The new report highlights the initiative’s expansion across 19 states and identifies key growth opportunities to help student parents succeed. Read more.
The Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) and the National Head Start Association (NHSA) released the Year Two Annual Report of the Kids on Campus initiative, which advances the success of parenting students and supports the school readiness of young children from low-income backgrounds by expanding Head Start classrooms onto community college campuses. The five-year initiative aims to establish at least 50 such partnerships by 2030.
Nearly one in five undergraduates in the United States — approximately 3.14 million students — are parenting while pursuing their college education. For many, access to high-quality, affordable, and convenient child care remains one of the biggest barriers to completing their degree.
The initiative’s core philosophy is rooted in two of the most effective strategies for reducing poverty: providing high-quality early childhood education and increasing adult economic mobility through education, training, and workforce pathways. Together, these approaches support two generations simultaneously, strengthening children’s development while helping parents pursue long-term economic success.
“When we support parents, we uplift students,” says Francisco Solis, president of San Antonio College (TX), which has a long-standing partnership with Head Start. “When families thrive, our community thrives. This is the power of a two-generation approach.”
The annual report outlines the rationale behind ACCT and NHSA’s work, progress to date, next steps, and opportunities for community colleges and Head Start programs to engage with Kids on Campus.
As of March 2026, at the end of year two of the initiative:
- 110 community colleges and 130 Head Start programs have taken initial steps to connect and engage with Kids on Campus.
- Partners have identified 43 potential matches between community colleges and Head Start programs interested in exploring partnerships across 19 states.
Five new Kids on Campus partnerships have launched in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Texas, with two additional partnerships in advanced stages of development in Texas.
“Before I found the Head Start on my college campus, it was extremely difficult,” says Cristina Medina, a student parent at Palo Alto College, one of the newest Kids on Campus launched sites. “I was on the edge of mentally and emotionally giving up because being a full-time mom while going to school and work was hard with no support.”
The initiative continues to grow nationwide through expanded partnerships, technical assistance, and collaborative efforts to strengthen on-campus child care and early childhood education opportunities for student parents and families.
The report profiles active partnerships and explores the benefits and barriers they face, financial considerations, model sustainability, advice from the field, and what is next for Kids on Campus.
To access the full report, go to kidsoncampus.org/annual-report.
ACCT and NHSA invite community colleges, Head Start programs, and philanthropic supporters interested in transforming outcomes for children and families to contact [email protected].
Kids on Campus is supported by ECMC Foundation, Imaginable Futures, Lumina Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Trellis Foundation, Crimsonbridge Foundation, and Seldin Haring-Smith Foundation.
Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) is a non-profit educational organization of governing boards, representing more than 6,500 elected and appointed trustees who govern over 1,000 community, technical, and junior colleges in the United States and beyond. ACCT fosters the principles and practices of exemplary governance while promoting high-quality and affordable higher education, cutting-edge workforce and development training, student success, and the opportunity for all individuals to achieve economic self-sufficiency and security. Visit www.acct.org for more information.
The National Head Start Association (NHSA) believes that every child, regardless of circumstances at birth, has the ability to succeed in school and in life. The opportunities offered by Head Start lead to healthier and empowered children and families and stronger, more vibrant communities. NHSA is the voice for more than 750,000 children, 250,000 staff, and more than 1,600 Head Start grant recipients in the United States. Visit nhsa.org or follow @NatlHeadStart to learn more.
Black History
Nixon Unbought, Unbossed and Undeterred Following U.S. Senate Defeat – Free Press of Jacksonville
Angie Nixon, who garnered over 3 million votes in her bid for the U.S. Senate, expressed disappointment after losing to Ashley Moody with a narrow margin of 50-48. Despite the defeat, she remains dedicated to holding elected officials accountable on healthcare and community issues and plans to challenge Moody again in 2028. Nixon highlighted the essential role of Black women in her campaign, noting their significant support and efforts to mobilize voters. Despite a lower voter turnout in Duval County compared to previous elections, grassroots efforts by local activists, particularly Black women, were notable. Nixon aims to inspire future generations of leaders and voters, emphasizing the importance of civic engagement.
A Black woman from the heart of Moncrief earned the support of more than 3 million Floridians this election season.
Angie Nixon did not become the first Jacksonville resident to serve in the U.S. Senate since 1936.
At least not yet.
The 42-year-old organizer, small business owner, politician and mother says she will challenge Senator-elect Ashley Moody in 2028.
“I’m disappointed in the outcome, but I’m ready to get back to work – everyone is – because we’re going to make sure that Ashley Moody is held accountable for making sure that people have access to quality healthcare, a roof over their head, food on the table, and trying to lower these costs,” Nixon said on Tuesday night. “So, I’m OK. I’m not happy with the outcome, but I’m ready to get to work.”
That fact that Nixon came so close can only be attributed to the scores of Black women who supported her campaign.
Some were on staff, others volunteered, tens of thousands more voted for the former state representative who has used her bullhorn to bulldoze through staid situations in Tallahassee.
A Black woman has never won statewide office in Florida. Nixon’s 50-48 loss to Moody means it still hasn’t happened.
Not many politicians would walk onto a stage after losing a statewide race playing Bonecrusher’s “Never Scared”.
Nixon faced racist attacks from an advisor to President Donald Trump. Nazi rhetoric was used on Fox News to describe Nixon’s supporters. Yet, they traversed the state – from Marathon to Marianna; from Sarasota to South Florida – connecting with voters.
The forlorn, yet hopeful faces of so many Black women in the audience said more than their words could muster. Some were pastors, others were elected officials. One, Sandra Thompson, attended the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963.
Thompson spent Election Day providing information to voters outside the Legends Center in Sherwood.
“It’s a very important election,” Thompson said. “We are electing our new leaders: the governor, a senator, and the House of Representatives. We need to get it right.”
If Thompson’s presence at Nixon’s campaign party was any indicator, people did not get it right.
Despite the chance to send a Jacksonville native to the U.S. Senate, hundreds of thousands of Duval County voters did not cast a ballot this year.
Preliminary data from the Duval County Supervisor of Elections shows only 55 percent of eligible voters participated this year.
Felicia Demps was not going to miss this election season. She brought five of her grandchildren with her inside the polling booth.
“They came home, and their teacher said, ‘We need to vote.’ I said, ‘Well, let’s go!”
Demps says she is a reliable Democrat who supported lowering property taxes, supported the 1-mil tax extension for Duval County Public Schools, and cares about community.
“Everyone needs to get together. Everyone wants the streets fixed until it’s time to vote,” Demps said. “The most important thing is: we want these things; but we won’t get out and vote.”
This year’s turnout is better than 2022, when Gov. Ron DeSantis won re-election for fun. But it’s lower than the 63 percent of Duval voters who turned out – many of whom hoped Andrew Gillum would become Florida’s first Black governor.
Black women were at the heart of the local effort to inform and motivate voters.
Cortina Floyd spent three hours waving signs along Moncrief Road ahead of the Northwest Classic football game between Raines and Ribault. Floyd and her Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. sisters were among the nearly 50 people who sported Black Greek-letter organizations and informed voters last week.
“As a Black educator, I feel it’s important for me to do my civic duty,” Floyd said.
Exit polling indicates Black women in Jacksonville, in Florida and beyond, did their civic duty.
Afterward, girls of all ages danced on stage after the Associated Press called Florida’s Senate race in Moody’s favor. As they danced, they were unencumbered by the burdens and expectations that are placed on the bodies, minds, and souls of Black girls.
The organizer who lives on the Northside, in a household with multiple union members, says it was not her dream to run for the U.S. Senate. But the woman who openly invoked Shirley Chisholm and Fannie Lou Hamer on the campaign trail committed to doing what she could to help the next generation of girls.
“It’s not necessarily a dream personally. I just want to help people,” Nixon said on Tuesday night. “I wanted to make sure that we’re improving their lives. But the young people that came up to me tonight, they’re excited. They’re ready to continue to do the work and ready to, actually, build a better vision for their future. I’m all hands on deck with them, helping them grow as leaders and helping register more voters so that we can actually win.”
Advertising
PRESS ROOM: AutoNetwork.com Launches a Free Auto Section for Newspapers, Credit Unions, Banks, Churches, Schools and Nonprofits
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Right now, someone who reads your paper, banks with you, sits in your pews, or attends your school is signing a car deal. Too often, they leave with a high-cost loan, old trade-in debt rolled into a new one, add-ons they never asked for, or a repair bill they didn’t understand. Most of those losses happen because no one gave them the facts first.
One line of code puts free, sourced car-buying and car-repair lessons in front of the people you serve. No cost. No contract. No staff needed.
AutoNetwork.com, which has served car buyers since 1986, today launched the Auto Section: a free, ready-made car-money education section that any organization can add to its website by pasting one line of code. Its message is simple: Know Before You Go To A Dealer.
The people you serve are paying for what no one told them
Right now, someone who reads your paper, banks with you, sits in your pews, or attends your school is signing a car deal. Too often, they leave with a high-cost loan, old trade-in debt rolled into a new one, add-ons they never asked for, or a repair bill they didn’t understand. Most of those losses happen because no one gave them the facts first.
Every organization on this list exists to look out for its people. The facts are now free and take minutes to add. Not sharing them means letting the next family learn the hard way, at the dealer’s desk or the repair counter.
One Auto Section, five ways to serve
- Newspapers: a reader-service section you don’t have to staff, write or pay for. You keep 100% of the ad space around it and 100% of any sponsor line you sell, such as “Auto Section sponsored by…” on your own page.
- Credit unions and banks: member education that reaches people before they sit down in the dealer’s finance office, where the loan terms get decided.
- Churches: a stewardship and money ministry for families. A car is one of the biggest purchases most households make.
- HBCUs and schools: first-car, first-loan and first-repair lessons for students and their families.
- Nonprofits: a ready-made addition to financial-empowerment programs, with no added cost or staff.
- What your people learn
- Financing: leasing vs. buying, who should lease, mileage limits, wear charges and GAP coverage.
- Trade-in debt: how owing more than a car is worth happens, and how to get out.
- Depreciation: how fast a car can lose value, with a free calculator.
- Add-ons and fees: what to get in writing before signing.
- Warranties: what the factory covers, and when extended coverage may not pay off.
- Credit: rights and steps for buyers with low or no credit, plus a first-time buyer guide.
- Service costs: how to choose a repair shop, ask for a written estimate, know your rights and spot a padded bill, plus factory maintenance schedules and estimated ownership costs so routine service is never a surprise.
- Plus: Ask AI Roosevelt for answers to car questions, and new-model walkaround videos.
Every guide links to its sources. The Auto Section teaches what to ask and what is normal; it never quotes local shop prices or sells repairs.
Built to be safe, simple, and yours
- Easy: copy one line from the free setup page, paste it where you want the section, and you’re done. New guides and videos appear by themselves.
- Safe: it runs in a sealed frame that cannot read or change your site, your logins or your ad accounts. It collects no reader names or emails.
- Clean: only AutoNetwork.com education appears inside the section. No outside ads. Guides and videos open inside it, so readers stay on your page.
- No strings: no cost and no contract. Delete the line, and it’s gone.
A word from the founder
“For forty years I’ve watched good people pay too much for cars and repairs simply because nobody told them what to ask,” said Roosevelt Gist, founder of AutoNetwork.com. “The organizations people already trust are the best messengers. We built the Auto Section so they can share the facts without spending a dime or hiring anyone.”
The next car deal or repair bill in your community is happening now. Add the free Auto Section today and make sure your people walk in knowing the facts:
https://autonetwork.com/autosection?src=press-release
If you can paste a link into your website, you can install it. Questions? Email [email protected].
About AutoNetwork.com
AutoNetwork.com has served car buyers since 1986 with free, sourced consumer education, vehicle reviews, and the free AutoNetwork.com app. The Auto Section is general education, not legal or financial advice. Learn more at autonetwork.com.
Black History
MHU Commemorates ASCORE and Anniversary of Desegregation
THE URBAN NEWS — UNC Asheville and Mars Hill University are collaborating to host a series of commemorative events marking the 65th anniversary of their desegregation. The programming honors Etta Mae Whitner Patterson and Oralene Anderson Graves Simmons, two former members of the Asheville Student Committee on Racial Equality (ASCORE) who became the first Black students at their respective institutions in 1961.
A week of events at UNC Asheville, Mars Hill University, and downtown Asheville.
In 1961, two young women broke the color barrier to become the first African American students at two Western North Carolina colleges: Etta Mae Whitner Patterson at UNC Asheville and Oralene Anderson Graves Simmons at Mars Hill University (then Mars Hill College).
Both women were students at Asheville’s Stephens-Lee High School, where they were members of the Asheville Student Committee on Racial Equality (ASCORE). Through nonviolent protest, ASCORE led efforts to desegregate many Asheville stores and businesses.
Patterson and Simmons, who later founded the Martin Luther King Jr. Association of Asheville and Buncombe County, have since received honorary doctorates from their alma maters in recognition of their achievements and lifelong service to their communities.
To commemorate ASCORE, honor the leadership of Etta Patterson and Oralene Simmons, and mark the 65th anniversary of the desegregation of UNC Asheville and Mars Hill University, UNC Asheville’s Department of History and Mars Hill University’s Liston B. Ramsey Center for Appalachian Studies invite the public to attend “Stories of ASCORE: Lessons in Courage, Desegregation, and Community Activism.”
The program will feature two panel discussions with Drs. Patterson and Simmons, along with other former members of ASCORE. Panelists will discuss how their experiences integrating Asheville’s businesses and institutions prepared them for their college careers, professional lives, and continued community activism.
The first panel discussion will take place at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, in the Blue Ridge Room of Highsmith Union at UNC Asheville. The event will feature a presentation by Dr. Patterson and a panel discussion with Dr. Simmons, Marvin Chambers, Jesse Ray, and Al Whitesides. The panel will be moderated by Deborah Miles, retired director of the former UNC Asheville Center for Diversity Education.
This event is sponsored by UNC Asheville’s Department of History and Africana Studies Program, with generous support from King and Pam Prather. A free visitor parking permit is required for the UNC Asheville event. Please visit the university’s parking website for instructions on obtaining a permit for the evening’s program.
The second panel discussion will take place at 5 p.m. on Thursday, November 12, 2026, in the Tony and Terry Floyd Conference Center in the Mars Hill University Campus Center. The event will feature Dr. Simmons, Annette Coleman, and Elizabeth Colton. The panel will be moderated by Jonathan McCoy, professor of history at Mars Hill University.
This event is sponsored by the Liston B. Ramsey Center for Appalachian Studies, with generous support from the university’s Provost’s Office.
In addition, at 12 noon on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, in Pack Square in downtown Asheville, Mayor Esther Manheimer and the Buncombe County Commission Chair will proclaim ASCORE Day and present honors to Etta Patterson and Oralene Simmons. Holly Jones of the North Carolina Governor’s Office will also participate in the ceremony.
For more information, contact Leila Weinstein at Mars Hill University ([email protected]) or Ellen Holmes Pearson at UNC Asheville ([email protected]).
Based on reporting by The Urban News.
Black History
HBCU Love: Spelman’s Dr. Letitia Plummer Makes History as Harris County’s First Black Elected County Judge
TEXAS METRO NEWS — Former Houston City Council member Dr. Letitia Plummer has made history as the first Black person elected to serve as the Harris County Judge. The Spelman College alumna defeated Republican Orlando Sanchez in the general election for Texas’ most populous county, receiving approximately 62% of the vote.
Letitia Plummer is the next Harris County judge, and the Spelman College alumna made history in Texas’ most populous county. On Tuesday night, the former Houston City Council member defeated Republican Orlando Sanchez. As a result, she becomes the first African American elected to lead Harris County.
Early unofficial results showed Plummer with about 62% of the vote to Sanchez’s 38%. Shortly after 9 p.m., Sanchez called Plummer to concede. He then asked his supporters to back her once she takes office.
The win also makes her the first Muslim elected to the post. According to the Houston Chronicle, that makes her the highest-ranking Muslim executive official in Texas history.
A Historic Night in Houston
Plummer succeeds Lina Hidalgo, who chose not to seek another term. Now, a Spelman woman takes over the top job in a county of nearly 5 million people.
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In Texas, the county judge is not a courtroom role. Instead, the job leads the Commissioners Court, which runs the county’s budget, roads, flood control and public health. So the seat carries real power over daily life in the Houston region.
The general election was never especially close. However, the road to November was brutal. In the March 3 primary, Plummer finished second behind former Houston Mayor Annise Parker. Parker took about 47% to Plummer’s 37%, sending the race to a runoff.
Then Plummer flipped the script. On May 26, she beat Parker in the runoff with about 51% of the vote. From there, she turned to Sanchez and never looked back. Houston Public Media has full coverage of election night.
Letitia Plummer’s Road From Linkwood to Harris County Judge
Plummer grew up in Linkwood, a neighborhood south of Brays Bayou near Buffalo Speedway. Her family history runs deep in Houston. Her grandfather was a Tuskegee Airman flight instructor. After the war, he became the first African American investigator for the Harris County district attorney.
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Her father, Matthew Plummer Jr., studied dentistry at Harvard. Later, he served in the Peace Corps, where he met her mother in Africa. Her mother brought Yemeni and Indian roots to the family. As a result, Plummer grew up in a multicultural household that shaped her outlook.
As a teen, she attended what is now DeBakey High School for Health Professions. Then she headed to Atlanta for Spelman. There, she joined Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
After Spelman, she came home to Texas for dental school at Baylor College of Dentistry. Like her father, she became a dentist. She went on to own dental practices in the Houston area, including in Pearland.
From Dental Chair to City Hall
Plummer’s political career started with a 2018 run for Congress. She made the Democratic runoff in Texas’ 22nd District but lost to Sri Preston Kulkarni. Still, the campaign put her on the map.
A year later, she won Houston City Council At-Large Position 4. She took office in January 2020. In doing so, she became the first Muslim woman elected to the Council.
On the Council, she focused on police reform, food deserts and apartment inspections. She also chaired the Government Operations Committee. Notably, fellow Spelman alumna Carolyn Evans-Shabazz served alongside her on the Council.
In 2025, she launched her campaign for county judge. Then she timed her exit from the Council so the city could fill her seat during a regular election. That move saved Houston the cost of a standalone special election.
What She Ran On
Plummer pitched herself as a unifier for a Commissioners Court that has often split along party lines. She promised to build stronger working relationships among its members.
She also called for better county services and changes to the county’s Flock camera contract. In addition, she pushed back on state leaders for exerting authority over Harris County.
On election night, she spoke about her personal struggles with surrogacy. She said that experience helped inspire her decision to run.
Why Letitia Plummer’s Win Matters for Spelman
Spelman women had a big night across the country Tuesday. In New York, alumna Adrienne Adams won the lieutenant governor’s race. Now Plummer will run one of the largest counties in America.
Together, the wins show how far the Spelman network reaches in politics. Both women built careers outside government before winning office. And both broke barriers on the way up. For more on the school, check out our Spelman College coverage. You can also follow our Keisha Lance Bottoms coverage for more HBCU wins from election night.
What Comes Next
Plummer will take office in January. Between now and then, she will build her team and prepare for the county budget fight. For more on her path, the Houston Chronicle tracked her rise through a political roller coaster year.
Stay with HBCU Buzz for continued coverage of Harris County Judge-elect Letitia Plummer as she prepares to take office.
In this article:HBCU LOVE, Letitia Plummer, Spelman’s Dr. Letitia Plummer Makes History as Harris County’s First Black Elected County Judge
Based on reporting by Texas Metro News.
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