YOUNGSTOWN - On Saturday, families, health workers, and community organizations gathered at Wick Park in Youngstown for the annual Infant Vitality Community Block Party.

The event, hosted by the Greater Youngstown Community Dialogue on Racism (GYCDOR), aims to raise awareness about infant health and connect parents with resources that can save lives.

"It's not a secret that in the Mahoning Valley, infant mortality is disproportionately high, and what we're trying to do here today is just to address that," GYCDOR director Jon Paul Robles said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, Ohio has an infant mortality rate of 7.1 deaths for every 1,000 births, which is higher than the national average of 5.6 deaths per 1,000 births.

A 2023 report from the Ohio Department of Children and

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