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WHAT
WE DO

Working to create opportunities for upward mobilization, safety, and support in the Franconia-Mt.Vernon communities.

PROGRAMS & INITIATIVES.

Our programs and initiatives were created to respond to the holistic needs of the Franconia-Mt.Vernon communities. We engage individuals and families in a human-centered manner and ensure they are treated with dignity and respect. A strong focus is placed on encouraging self-awareness and defining purpose for their collective journeys.

Civic Engagement & Systems Change

We provide community members with the knowledge and skills of social justice practices and theories to effectively engage systems and create more equitable outcomes and policies that are human-centered and community informed.

Community Engagement & Survivor Support

Creating the change we want to see is how we engage and provide support to those impacted by violence, or seeking safe-spaces to enrich and protect the lives of their children. We provide victims of domestic violence with court-accompaniment and victim stabilization resources, and engage youth thorough our summer enrichment and mentoring programs.

COMMUNITY HEALTH COLLECTIVE

HEALING CIRCLES

Our community-based mental health programming provides community members with the opportunity to engage in guided and movement meditation, sound therapy with gongs and Tibetan singing bowls, art therapy, yoga, and mindfulness self-care tools and techniques to maintain peace and balance or to heal from traumatic experiences.

2023 Kwanzaa Community Sound Bath

2023 Teen Summit

This Youth-Led program focuses on reducing the impact and exposure to trauma among youth aged 12-19 through cultural enrichment and civic engagement activities. Participants attend monthly meetings, peer support groups, sound therapy sessions, teen nature retreats, and cultural enrichment activities.

KEEPING IT REAL

A safe space for Black women to engage in discussions about health, finances, and relationships. Through various support engagements Black women share lived experiences and seek guidance and support from their peers.

Keeping It Real Support Group

WHERE WE WORK.

Since 2019, LAZERA Ministries has provided social-emotional wellness, system-based advocacy, and basic life needs support to residents in Fairfax County's Franconia-Mt.Vernon Districts along Richmond Highway on the Route 1 corridor.

According to the Northern Virginia Health Foundation’s report Getting Ahead: The Uneven Opportunity Landscape in Northern Virginia, the life expectancy of those living in this community is 8-15 years less than those in neighboring communities.