Community Is Medicine That Heals

Source: DALL-E/OpenAI

We’re living in a loneliness epidemic. The U.S. is experiencing record levels of depression and anxiety and a deepening divide between communities. But what if the key to better health isn’t just medication or therapy, but simply each other?

Leaders in health and wellness are beginning to realize what many of us have felt all along: Community is medicine. And that means healing isn’t just about going to a doctor. It’s also about joining up with other people to share purpose, belonging, and service.

I’ve previously written about the power of shared experiences, how deciphering your childhood experiences can reveal personal strengths, and the importance of social connection in business leadership and life itself. I’ve also focused on how and why service and volunteering are forces for personal and collective transformation.

Why am I now writing about the topic of community as a force for health and wellness? Because today’s social fragmentation and polarization demand new types of breakthrough thinking. They also require scalable, actionable models that integrate empathy, community, and innovative approaches that heal in transformative ways.

A New Way to Deliver Health and Wellness

Most health systems still treat the body in isolation from the mind and spirit, and the individual as disconnected from the community at large. A small, entrepreneurial nonprofit, based in Oakland, California, called Open Source Wellness (OSW) is working to flip this script. OSW’s “Community as Medicine” (CAM) model combines behavioral health coaching with group-based activities to deliver wellness in ways that are culturally inclusive, trauma-informed, and joyfully experiential. And anyone focused on health and wellness can learn and apply their approaches by completing OSW’s health coach training program.

Here’s how CAM works: Participants are typically referred by physicians, therapists, or community clinics and join a 12-week CAM program guided by trained health coaches and peer leaders. The sessions blend physical activity, healthy eating, stress reduction, and social connection, all delivered in a group setting either in-person or online.

It’s not therapy. It’s not a lecture. It’s an experience. And it’s proven to increase physical activity, improve nutrition, reduce depression and anxiety, and foster meaningful social connections.

The model is designed specifically for underserved populations that often lack access to this type of program. And CAM doesn’t just improve health. It creates pathways to employment for participants who want to become certified health coaches themselves.

Research backs up the approach. A recent study published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine found that Open Source Wellness’s model significantly reduces depression, anxiety, and social isolation while increasing physical activity and healthy eating habits. The study also highlighted how the model supports behavior change through its community-based engagement. In short, when people experience wellness together—with others who listen, move, and grow alongside them—they’re more likely to stick with healthy habits and feel better about themselves and life in general. And, because CAM has been found to be effective, CAM sessions may be reimbursed by health insurers.

Community as Medicine

OSW’s Community as Medicine model includes four key components, all of which occur in a supportive group setting guided by trained health coaches and facilitators:

• Move – Participants engage in fun, accessible physical activity that energizes and supports overall well-being, with no prior experience or fitness level needed.
• Nourish – Healthy eating becomes a shared, practical experience that respects culture and real-life constraints.
• Connect – Structured conversations and peer sharing help participants build authentic, supportive relationships.
• Be – Mindfulness practices like rest, breathwork, and stillness support emotional regulation and stress reduction.

Together, these lifestyle medicine pillars create a replicable, evidence-based approach to wellness that is accessible, inclusive, and rooted in community.

Healing Through Human Connection

We often treat health as a private affair, something you manage with your doctor, on your time, surrounded by systems that ensure confidentiality. Unfortunately, these systems of privacy and confidentiality can inadvertently reinforce isolation and even shame, as though our health and well-being challenges are our fault. The reality is that health is deeply social. It’s shaped by where you live, who you’re connected to, and whether you feel seen and supported.

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In an increasingly divided world, community-based health approaches do more than improve well-being. They build bridges between people and perspectives. When we come together with shared purpose, whether through wellness activities or service, we restore trust and empathy in ways that are desperately needed.

It’s no surprise that OSW was recently selected to join the New Profit Mental Health Equity Catalyze Cohort alongside other leading-edge social innovators that are redefining how we approach well-being.

Even more promising? OSW’s “Community as Medicine Learning Collaborative” is also gaining traction, bringing this model to YMCAs, clinics, and nonprofits across the country, with support from leading foundations, including the program's inaugural funder, the Ardmore Institute of Health, as well as the American Heart Association Social Impact Funds and Unlikely Collaborators.

From Silos to Community Support Systems

Too often, healthcare is siloed from community, service is separated from care, and equity is an afterthought instead of a design principle. OSW’s Community as Medicine model brings it all together in one place.

It reminds us that wellness is more than the absence of disease. It’s about connection, meaning, and feeling part of something larger than yourself.

In a world hungry for belonging and wholeness, community might be the most powerful medicine we have.