Since the initial publication of Case Studies in Community Psychology Practice: A Global Lens in 2022, some things in our world have changed and some have stayed the same. For example, unfortunately we still engage in wars to settle differences, and equity for all people is not yet a reality. As much as things stayed the same, within three years, our world has also changed considerably! We have come through the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Ketanji Brown was confirmed as the first Black woman to sit as a Supreme Court justice. Change is absolutely inevitable and no individual, family or community is exempt.

We pointed out in our Introduction that communities are living organisms and thus need certain nutrients to grow and flourish, and Part Five of our book is part of the change process. In the Introduction we shared in part… “we recognize that a community is a living organism and needs certain nutrients as all organisms do to convert to energy that of course, is used to develop and grow!”  (Palmer, Viola, Rogers & Engel, 2022, para. 1). By situating community psychology in medicine and education, we seek to mimic the dynamic change process that communities undergo to grow and flourish by also changing and growing. After all, it is a book on community psychology practice, which should never be static.

In late 2024, an opportunity for expansion of our evocative e-textbook surfaced. We stepped into the change process—linking medicine, education and community psychology practice! We are thrilled to demonstrate how using a community psychology approach in the learning and practice of medicine not only expands the depth and breadth of our book but also shows the malleability of such a discipline we have grown to love!

Collaborating with Charles Drew University College of Medicine (CDU), specifically faculty and students in its Community Engagement Learning Opportunity (CELO) program, we added six stories of medical students growing and learning to become physicians who are adept at not just treating illnesses but also addressing health disparities. thereby promoting, health equity. The cases highlighted in this section demonstrate using community engaged research as a means to create an academic and community knowledge-base that might address the challenges facing communities and identify feasible solutions by incorporating community psychology values and praxis.

As the program director, Dr. Noe Chavez called the project with CELO, a “cross-pollination” of medicine and community-–this partnership is unparalleled and a model for the type of work we uphold and support. The six stories range from addressing childhood obesity to food insecurity to postpartum depression among new mothers. This section begins with the case story: S.U.P.P.O.R.T. for Unhoused Individuals with Substance Use in Service Planning Area 6 in Los Angeles, California. A model community-based research project, provided a comprehensive framework to assist physicians in determining how social determinants of health impact their patients. The second study, Is Nutrition the Antidote to the Hypertension Epidemic in South Angeles follows and continues to position the work of students in the CELO program as integral to advancing health equity among Black and Latinx communities in South Los Angeles, specifically around addressing hypertension. The students focused on increasing access to health foods, improving health literacy and fostering community engagement. A third study in this section Beyond Birth – Unpacking Postpartum Depression (PPD) in SPA 6 and the Factors Driving Disparity,  explores the experiences of mothers in South Central Los Angeles who have experienced postpartum depression. An ever increasing health risk among Black and Latina mothers, this chapter importantly shares recommendations worthy of the read!

A Biopsychosocial Analysis of the Relationship Between Food Insecurity and Mental Health in South Los Angeles, the next case story is a strong reminder of the critical correlation between food insecurity and mental health outcomes. Read this great chapter on roles you might play in society to address this serious barrier to community mental health and well-being. A fifth study in Part Five, Working Together: A Community Approach to Combat Pediatric Asthma in South Los Angeles, is another strong reminder of a public health disparity that targets our children—pediatric asthma. The answer? Certainly creating seats at the table for families impacted most by this challenge cannot be understated. The sixth case story, Breaking the Cycle: Community-Centered Solutions for Socioeconomic and Environmental Challenges that Drive Childhood Obesity in South Lost Angeles is the last chapter in Part Five, but certainly not the least. The students and community partners highlight the socioecological model, a public health framework that point to the need for healthcare providers to deliver care that is culturally and linguistically sensitive, as essential, not an option to begin to address this health risk among children.

Part Five highlights the expansive reach of community psychology across disciplines and professional settings. The case studies presented here illustrate how community psychologists collaborate with partners in health, education, public policy, and community organizations to address complex social challenges. Together, these chapters demonstrate that community psychology is not confined to a single field; rather, it is a dynamic, integrative approach that centers equity, participation, and collective well-being. By bridging disciplinary boundaries, these contributors show how community-engaged scholarship and practice can generate innovative solutions that strengthen communities and advance social justice across local and global contexts.