Sacramento Voices have taken on a big assignment in September — surveying the health of their South Sacramento neighborhoods.

The project is creative and subjective. And it’s based on clinical observations and personal experiences that can only come from people who live and work in the communities under examination.

The results are authentic. They will surprise you.

Correspondent Eugene Willis opens our series with reportage of Oak Park’s liquor stores and how they reflect the health of a community grappling with change, new faces and gentrification.

New stories will be posted here every few days during September. We welcome your feedback.