Social Entrepreneur Cohort

Root Cause Collective

Contact Info

Rev. AW Shields, Executive Director
250 Roaring Creek Drive
Garner, NC 27529
909-821-4585

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Founded by the Root Cause Collective, a 2022 NBA Social Entrepreneurship Cohort member, the Root Wellness Center is part of a covenant trio between Root Cause Collective and the Root Church, a budding new church plant in North Carolina Region of the Christian Church Disciples of Christ. Vital to the work of abolition that requires personal transformation for social change, the Root Wellness Center was created to meet the growing need for affordable, culturally-responsive health care in communities of the African diaspora. We offer nature-based programs that support the physical, mental, sexual, spiritual, parental, and reproductive health of our community.


Fall 2022 Mission & Ministry Grant

Whole Body Health & Wellness Cohort

The Whole Body Health & Wellness Cohort is part of our Mental Health and Wellness Cohort program. This program offers trauma-responsive mental health and wellness cohorts to counter pathological mental healthcare ideologies and practices that focus on individual responsibility rather than unjust social conditions. These cohorts help remove financial barriers to quality care by building a “natural therapeutic community” that centers participants’ cultural wisdom, heritage, and communication styles, while also providing the knowledge and resources necessary to mediate the negative impacts of social risk factors on mental health. To date, the project has already provided pilot cohorts, at no cost, to over 150 participants.

Mission Area: Older Adult Ministries

Grant Amount: $5,000