Centering Black Men, Housing Stability, and Community Wellbeing this June
Join us for our monthly Black Neighborhood Tenant Council meeting.
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
Dinner at 5:30 PM
Meeting Begins at 6:00 PM
at House of Haven
5231 Atlantic Avenue, Long Beach
RSVP at: BLMLongBeach.org/RSVP
Every month, our Black Neighborhood Tenant Council (BNTC) creates space to learn, connect, organize, and strengthen our collective power around housing justice in Long Beach.
This month, our conversation will focus on Black men, housing, health, healing, and community wellbeing.
June is recognized nationally as both Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month and Men’s Health Month. It is also the month of Father’s Day, making this a meaningful time to pause, reflect, and create space for the Black men in our families and communities.
This month’s BNTC conversation is rooted in the understanding that:
Housing justice is not only about buildings. It is about people.
Safe homes support health. Healthy communities support healing. And healing is part of the fight for housing justice.
Housing affects nearly every part of our lives.
It affects our mental health, physical health, relationships, parenting, sleep, stress levels, financial stability, self-worth, and sense of safety. When someone is facing eviction, unsafe living conditions, displacement, housing insecurity, or ongoing conflict with a landlord, the impact is not only financial. It can show up in the body, in the mind, in family relationships, and in the way people move through the world each day.
This is especially important for Black communities, where housing instability is connected to a longer history of redlining, displacement, environmental racism, disinvestment, over-policing, economic exclusion, and state-sanctioned violence.
Where we live can shape how long we live. It can shape access to clean air, safe streets, quality food, healthcare, parks, transportation, jobs, and community support. These conditions are shaped by policy, power, and systems that have too often harmed Black neighborhoods and Black families.
This month, we will look at how housing instability affects our bodies, how it shows up in people’s lives, and why our fight for safe, stable housing must also include care for our health, our families, and our spirits.
Centering Black Men
For many Black men, there is often an expectation to be the provider, protector, fixer, and problem solver. When housing becomes unstable, that pressure can become overwhelming.
Many men carry those burdens silently.
They may be worried about rent, employment, family responsibilities, neighborhood violence, racial profiling, caregiving, fatherhood, grief, or the pressure to stay strong for everyone else. Too often, Black men are asked to carry the weight without being asked what support they need.
At this month’s meeting, we are creating intentional space to ask:
What happens when the people expected to carry everyone else are carrying too much themselves?
What pressures do Black men face when trying to provide for their families?
What support do Black men need that they rarely ask for?
This conversation is not about blaming Black men or asking them to perform their pain. It is about honoring their humanity. It is about saying clearly that Black men deserve care, safety, housing, healing, support, joy, and love.
As a community, we believe that caring for Black men is part of caring for Black families, Black neighborhoods, and Black futures.
What We’ll Explore Together
In our conversation together, we’ll explore the connection between housing, health, and healing through data, reflection, and community connection, including:
How housing stability affects mental, physical, and emotional health
What life expectancy maps and neighborhood data tell us about race, place, and wellbeing
How eviction, displacement, unsafe housing, and landlord conflict impact stress, sleep, parenting, relationships, and sense of safety
The unique pressures Black men face as fathers, sons, partners, workers, elders, caregivers, mentors, and community members
How state-sanctioned violence has harmed Black families and shaped community trauma
How we can better support Black men, especially young Black men
What healing, encouragement, and community care can look like in our housing justice work
What mental health and wellness resources are available locally
How residents can get involved in BNTC’s housing justice organizing
We have also invited special guests to share with us their expertise on mental health and wellness.
Honoring Brandon Boyd and Black Men Impacted by Violence
This month’s gathering will include a special moment to honor Long Beach’s Brandon Boyd and other Black men whose lives, families, and communities have been impacted by state-sanctioned violence and systemic harm.
We will hold this moment with care and intention.
When we talk about housing justice, we are also talking about the conditions that allow Black people to live fully, safely, and with dignity. That includes the right to stable housing, the right to be cared for, the right to move through our neighborhoods without violence, and the right to build families and futures without being crushed by systems designed to harm us.
Join Us in Community
Join our growing community of Black residents working together to protect our neighborhoods, strengthen tenant power, build relationships, and create a future where Black people can remain rooted and thrive in Long Beach. We hope you’ll join us.
Need Support?
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, support is available.
For immediate help, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. The service is free, confidential, and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Donation Drive
Please bring donations of new men’s underwear / boxer briefs, or food gift cards to the June BNTC meeting to support the young people served by House of Haven.
