Amelia Orjuela Da Silva | Miami Times

Across South Florida, congregations are confronting a hard numbers problem: rising costs, shifting demographics, aging facilities, and, in some cases, fewer people in the pews. A wave of foreclosures, property sales and mergers has put the issue in sharp relief. At the same time, pastors and church leaders say new tactics — from housing development and nonprofit partnerships to online giving — are helping churches remain anchors of community life.

Founded by Bahamian settlers in 1895, the historic congregation continues to uplift Miami’s Black community through education, worship, and resilience.

The Black Collective’s walking tour series traces the impact of gentrification and amplifies community voices demanding housing justice in Miami.

In 2021, as Miami Gardens cleared a path for Formula One racing around Hard Rock Stadium, officials touted a $5 million Community Benefits Package to sweeten the deal that drew resident pushback.

Leaders say the milestone, achieved during the 2024–2025 school year, represents both academic progress and a powerful community victory.

Black women make up just 4.1% of all U.S. lawyers. The legal profession has long been an exclusive space, guarded by systemic barriers that made access difficult for women of color. Still, Black women fought for their place.

The project — funded through the C40 Cool Cities Network’s Heat, Health, and Equity Challenge Fund — began recruiting residents in June, installed sensors in July, and will continue recording temperatures through October. Led by the city’s Office of Resilience and Sustainability (ORS), along with The Miami Foundation and other community-based organizations (CBOs), the effort seeks to close a long-standing “data gap.”

When news broke that Miami would lose more than $60 million in federal funding for the long-planned Underdeck project — now officially named the Rev. Edward T. Graham Greenway — many in Overtown saw it as yet another setback for a community scarred by broken promises. But business leaders say they are determined not to let the cut derail momentum.

When Giovanni Sairras walked out of a Florida prison after serving 17 years of a 20-year sentence, he knew reentry was about more than just survival — it was about dignity. That vision led him to found Re-Entry One Inc., a grassroots nonprofit helping returning citizens rebuild their lives, in 2020.

When a mental health crisis unfolds in Miami-Dade, a call to 1-866-SAFEMIA brings a different kind of first responder: the Freedom House Mobile Crisis Team sends trained medics, therapists and crisis interventionists who focus on de-escalating and connecting people to care — without involving police. A new $2.2 million grant will allow the Liberty City-based team to operate seven days a week.

Once the only beach Black Miamians could access, the historic park now stands as a powerful monument to civil rights, memory, and cultural preservation.

A $1 billion redevelopment project at Claude Pepper Park aims to transform the west side of North Miami, but nearby Mitchell Lake Estates residents say the project threatens to upend the peace and stability of their community.