Seed grants for community-based initiatives seek to improve health

Mayor Rahm Emanuel
Mayor Rahm Emanuel

CHICAGO - As part of the City’s ongoing work to engage and invest in neighborhoods, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) recently announced the new Healthy Chicago Community Seed Grants, providing up to six seed grants for community-based initiatives to improve health and well-being. The new grant opportunities are part of the citywide Healthy Chicago 2.0 plan, announced March 29, and will be discussed during of a series of community meetings hosted by CDPH.

“Healthy Chicago 2.0 was designed with our communities’ needs in mind to expand innovative health strategies and improve the health and vitality of each of our residents,” said Mayor Emanuel. “These new seed grants follow up on that promise by focusing on eliminating inequities and ensuring that every resident has the resources and opportunities necessary to lead a healthy life.”

Under the new effort, CDPH will award up to six community seed grants, ranging between $10,000 and $20,000, to local non-profit organizations with innovative ideas on how to address health disparities at a community-level. Awards will be based on how closely programs align with the goals of Healthy Chicago 2.0, a data-driven plan that identifies key areas of improvement across the city.

“The best way to improve our city’s health is to engage the people who live here,” said CDPH Commissioner Julie Morita, M.D. “By providing seed grants and by holding these community meetings, we will work directly with residents to help them improve their communities. We look forward to engaging our residents firsthand on how we can improve services to meet their needs and improve quality of life in their communities.”

Building on the success of 2011’s Healthy Chicago plan, Healthy Chicago 2.0 provides strategies to address traditional health issues as well as systemic issues associated with poor health - including housing, education and transportation and focuses on neighborhoods and demographic groups that continue to face significant health disparities. The Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago in partnership with CDPH will release the grant application later this month which will be available at www.cityofchicago.org/health.

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