The first nationwide study on whole-person healing and holistic health for Black, Brown, and immigrant communities

Since 2019, Freedom Community Clinic (FCC) has been working to provide community-based integrative medicine to under-served communities in the Bay Area.

We are committed to advancing the health, healing, and well-being of Black, Brown, and immigrant communities, particularly those facing systemic disinvestment, ongoing trauma, and violence.

As we have served our community, this survey will help us understand challenges people may face in accessing holistic and integrative medicine.

We will be collecting responses starting May 27 until late August 2025 and present the results at our inaugural Healing to the People Summit Convening in September.

For the purposes of this survey, holistic and integrative medicine includes treatments that exist outside of biophysical or biochemical terms, and may include things such as acupuncture, massage, reiki, curandismo, meditation, energy work, and spiritual practices among others.

Preliminary Results - September 2025

Socio-Demographic Results

  • Language: Nearly 9 in 10 (88.7%) of respondents live in an English-only speaking household. Of those that don’t, Spanish is the second most common language used at home.

  • Race and Ethnicity: Over half (53.0%) of respondents identify as Black or African American, with over a quarter (25.4%) identifying as White. Over 4.2% of respondents identify as AAPI and 2.9% identify as Asian. Roughly 1 in 10 of respondents identify as Latino/a/e/x or Hispanic.

  • Gender: Nearly 2 in 3 respondents identify as male (66.4%). Almost 2% of respondents identify as non-binary or third gender.

  • Sexuality: Over 1 in 4 respondents identify as LGBTQIA+.

Health-Related Social Needs

  • Food Security: Over half (50.2%) of respondents report being worried about their food running out and not being able to get more.

  • Housing Security: Over 4 in 10 respondents (43.4%) report being worried about losing their house or being homeless.

  • Utility Burden: Over half (52.07%) of respondents report having issues with their utilities.

  • Transportation Barriers: Over half (55.47%) of respondents report that a lack of transportation kept them from attending medical appointments, work, or getting things they needed for daily living.

  • Safety: Over 4 in 10 respondents (41.5%) report being worried that someone may hurt them or their family. Over 4 in 10 respondents (40.5%) report feeling physically or emotionally unsafe where they live.

Healthcare Access

  • Health Insurance Type: Over a quarter (26.4%) of respondents report being on an employer-sponsored health plan, with 12.4% reporting being on their partners’ employer-sponsored health plan. Nearly 1 in 5 respondents (18.9%) are on Medicare, and over 1 in 10 (10.7%) report being insured through Medicaid. Nearly 1 in 10 respondents (9.9%) report being uninsured.

  • Source of Care: Over 1 in 10 respondents (11.4%) report not having a regular source of care or relying on the emergency room. Roughly 1 in 20 respondents (5.1%) report a holistic or alternative medicine provider as their usual source of care.

Sentiments about Holistic Care

  • Nearly 2 in 3 (65.8%) of respondents strongly agree or agree that health and healing happens beyond the hospital.

  • Nearly 7 in 10 (69.0%) of respondents strongly agree or agree that they want to learn more about safe, natural, and holistic ways to heal their bodies.

  • Nearly 2 in 3 (65.6%) of respondents strongly agree or agree that community-based healing should be a part of medical health care practices.

Click here to participate in

our nationwide study. 

We anticipate this survey will take 30-minutes to complete.

If you have any questions, please reach out to our Community Research Lead, Dr. Alexis Cooke, PhD at research@freedomcommunityclinic.org.