As they say, this is the most wonderful time of the year, and for many of us, it couldn’t be truer. It’s a time of year to be with your family and friends and to enjoy great food and laughter and to make memories that build a lifetime. We all know that this isn’t true for everyone in our community.
Last week, we highlighted data from our MHC Health Equity Report. The Report provides health and community data at the census tract level, so we know more clearly how each neighborhood is thriving or struggling.
If you missed the social media posts, here are a couple highlights.
- We have two next-door neighborhoods that have a 12-year difference in their life expectancies.
- The median income of the longest-living neighborhood is double of the shortest-living neighborhood.
- We have two neighborhoods where over 50% of people are obese, 25% have diabetes, and 25% smoke.
- Both of those neighborhoods struggle with poverty, as one has over 90% of the households and 100% of children living in poverty and the other has 25% of households and 50% of children living in poverty.
- 40% of our rental housing community-wide is substandard and in one neighborhood it’s 66%.
The reason to look at this data at the neighborhood level is so that our community understands where the real challenges are and can target policies and programs to better serve all residents of MHC.
While this data may feel like it brings down the spirit of the season, what it actually does is bring light to many of our community’s invisible populations. With this light, we can plan to do better in 2024 and spread the joy of the season throughout the whole community all year long.
