How Healthy Steps, Happy Families Builds Community for New and Expecting Parents
On a spring morning in Southern California, strollers roll slowly along a neighborhood path. Parents walk side by side, some meeting for the first time while others greet familiar faces. Conversations unfold easily about pregnancy, newborn sleep, feeding, fears, and joy, and nearby, a community midwife answers questions and offers reassurance without rush or judgment.
This inclusive gathering is part of the Healthy Steps, Happy Families initiative, a tri‑county community walk series created to bring pregnant and postpartum families together in a way that feels natural and welcoming.
The series was born directly from what families asked for. Through its annual community survey in 2025, the Healthy Start Enhanced San Bernardino Consortium heard clearly that parents wanted more opportunities to connect, move their bodies, and engage with midwives and other practitioners outside of clinical settings. They wanted spaces that felt accessible and human, where care showed up alongside everyday life. Healthy Steps, Happy Families is the response.
Easy Access to Care and Community
For many families, pregnancy and postpartum life can feel isolating, especially when support systems are limited or fragmented. The community walks are intentionally designed as low barrier spaces; there is no pressure to participate in a certain way and no expectation to already know anyone.
“The goal is to create confidence in connection, community, and trust,” said community mom Anika Muckelroy, one of the parent organizers involved in the series. “The common connection is parenthood and creating or expanding the village, whatever that may look like for each person.”
Walking was chosen deliberately. It’s low‑impact and flexible, so families can bring strollers, take breaks, move at their own pace, and still feel part of the group. Occasional add‑on activities like gentle yoga further support relaxation, breathing, and mind‑body connection, offering families flexible options that honor their changing needs during pregnancy and postpartum.
Just as important as the movement itself is the space walking creates for conversation with other families in the same phase of life and caring practitioners willing to listen and advise.
Bringing Midwifery Into Community Spaces
Midwifery is a central component of every Healthy Steps, Happy Families walk. Community midwives attend to answer questions, offer education, and provide light clinical support when appropriate.
Many families are genuinely surprised to learn that midwifery is active and accessible in their communities through the Healthy Start program groups, or that it can complement, rather than compete with, other forms of care.
“There’s no rush, no bias, no paperwork — just human and personalized care,” said Muckelroy. “This allows care to meet birthing people where they are.”
For families who may have limited access to trusted health information or who feel overwhelmed by the health systems in their region, these interactions help demystify perinatal care and build trust long before appointments are scheduled.
partnering for Impact
Healthy Steps, Happy Families is also a powerful example of what becomes possible through collaboration.
The series is co‑hosted by Healthy Start programs; the High Desert Hot Moms Walking Club and the Mom Walk Collective San Bernardino; contracted midwives and group facilitators Raven Yeargin (Blackbird Birthing), Sherrie LeGendre (Wise Roots Midwifery) and Alicia Hubbell-Fernandez (La Rosa Midwifery Inc.); and small businesses who each bring distinct relationships, expertise, and reach to the community walks. Local parent organizers lead alongside program staff, ensuring the events feel authentic and welcoming.
“The support of collaboration turns a small lemonade stand into a lemonade empire,” said Muckelroy. “We can only go so far doing the work alone.”
Local businesses help sponsor and participate in the walks, reinforcing a shared commitment to family wellness while keeping resources visible and rooted within the community. This is deeply intentional and creates events that are fun, practical, and meaningful all at once. Partners have offered activities such as gardening, creating do-it-yourself herbal bundles, care packages, and snacks.
A Reflection of Healthy Start in Practice
In San Bernardino County, Healthy Steps, Happy Families reflects the broader Healthy Start approach — one that prioritizes trust, relationship‑building, and community voice as essential to maternal and infant health.
Global Communities’ Healthy Start San Bernardino program supports pregnant and postpartum families through midwifery led prenatal groups, lactation support, doula services, mental health care, and navigation to community resources. The walks extend that model beyond program spaces, creating more ways to connect with families who may not yet be enrolled.
Because Global Communities and Healthy Start are relatively new to parts of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, the series has also become a welcoming way for families to get to know the program and its services.
What Families Are Saying
The impact shows up in small but meaningful moments.
Families have shared appreciation for the slow pace, the low-pressure environment, the diversity of participants, and the feeling of being seen. Many moms have spoken about how connecting with other parents helped them feel less alone during a time that can otherwise feel overwhelming.
“With billions of parents in the world, many still feel isolated,” said Muckelroy. “This work is showing that the parenthood journey is meant to be walked alongside community, never alone.”
Looking Ahead
Three walks were held across Victorville, San Bernardino, and Hemet in Spring 2026, each shaped by local partners and community energy. Due to Southern California’s summer heat, the series will pause through the warmer months and resume in October, with plans to expand into San Diego County.
As Healthy Steps, Happy Families initiative continues to grow, it remains grounded in its original purpose of listening to families, honoring their lived experiences, and building spaces where care, connection, and community can move forward together, one step at a time.