CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Local
Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and Atrium Health are
launching a new effort to improve the health of Queen City
residents by embedding health and social services into housing
investments made through the Charlotte Housing Opportunity
Investment Fund (CHOIF).
The joint strategy is moving forward thanks to a contract award
from Fannie Mae's Sustainable Communities Innovation Challenge, an
open competition exploring innovative ideas that help address the
affordable housing crisis in America. Five proposals received
funding as part of the second phase of the $10 million initiative, which focuses on the
intersection of affordable housing and health.
LISC and Atrium Health will use the contract award to develop a
new financing mechanism that will address social determinants of
health, such as employment and access to healthy food, as part of a
holistic approach to housing development through the CHOIF—a joint
effort among Foundation For The Carolinas, the City of Charlotte, corporations, and
philanthropic organizations to expand the city's supply of quality
housing. LISC is the fund manager for the CHOIF, which is expected
to raise and invest $50 million to
finance approximately 1,500 units of housing by 2020.
"Quality housing is critical to a strong and growing
Charlotte, and it is just as
critical to the health of our residents," said Charlotte's Mayor Vi
Lyles. "This new plan to connect the city's housing
expansion to better health, and the Fannie Mae award that is
helping launch it, will have a lasting positive impact on thousands
of people."
"When we talk about health and well-being, we have to talk about
quality affordable housing; we have to talk about economic
opportunity; we have to talk about access to quality medical care
and the chance to make good choices about food and exercise. All of
those relate to each other," said Ralphine
Caldwell, executive director of LISC Charlotte, the local
arm of the national social enterprise. "CHOIF offers the chance to
take on all of these issues as part of a concerted strategy to
narrow the health and opportunity gaps that many of our neighbors
face."
The Fannie Mae contract will help further research and
development needed over the next two years in order to integrate
health-related services into the CHOIF housing investment plan.
The goal is to improve quality-of-life outcomes for Charlotte residents, offer a model that other
cities and states could replicate, and encourage health-related
companies to invest in affordable housing as part of a broader
strategy to catalyze gains for the people and communities they
serve.
LISC and Atrium Health are already deeply connected to this type
of work. LISC has invested $20
billion to expand affordable housing, businesses, health and
jobs nationwide, including its innovative Healthy Futures Fund, a
five-year, $200 million effort to
pilot health-and-housing approaches across the country. Atrium
Health is a top regional health care provider, with more than 40
hospitals and more than 900 care locations across the Carolinas,
providing over $5.67 million in
uncompensated care and other benefits to the community each day.
Atrium Health works to enhance the overall health and well-being of
our community through high-quality patient care, education and
research programs, and numerous collaborative community engagement
and partnerships focused in community health priority
activities.
"When it comes to keeping populations healthy, we know our
responsibilities do not begin or end at the hospital door," said
Dr. Alisahah Cole, Atrium Health's chief community impact officer.
"This important work starts in our own backyard and particularly
within our most vulnerable neighborhoods, which don't have access
to health services, fresh foods or transportation, which greatly
impact health. Together, with LISC and Fannie Mae, we will build
upon our existing work and commitment to improve the health and
wellbeing of our Charlotte
community and establish a sustainable affordable housing model
ensuring residents have access to coordinated services."
"Efforts to expand quality housing throughout Charlotte are not just isolated investments,"
said Michael Marsicano, president
and CEO of the Foundation For The Carolinas, a driving force behind
the CHOIF and other work throughout Charlotte's communities. "These investments
have the greatest impact when aligned with other opportunities to
help people live better—whether that might mean investments in
education, youth services, job training, or mental health
counseling. This proposal helps advance those broader goals and
connect housing and services in new and catalytic ways."
Other Fannie Mae awardees announced today are working in
Illinois, New Jersey, Montana and Washington, D.C. to test new approaches to
significant community health challenges. In addition to leading the
effort in Charlotte, LISC is also
a partner in the Washington, D.C.
plan, led by the city's National Children's Medical Center, to
address high-rates of asthma in some neighborhoods.
"In underserved communities, affordable housing and health
outcomes of residents are inextricably linked. Research shows that
poor quality housing can have a direct, negative impact on a
person's health," said Maria
Evans, vice president, Sustainable Communities Partnership
and Innovation at Fannie Mae. "The five ideas we have chosen
to pursue have the potential to reimagine housing as a
prescription for a healthy life. We look forward to supporting
these innovative solutions and to working with all of the contract
awardees."
The first phase of the Innovation Challenge focused on workforce
development and was announced in 2018. Phase two focuses on
the intersection of affordable housing and health. The third and
final phase seeks solutions at the intersection of affordable
housing, education, and economic mobility. Contract awardees for
the third phase will be announced at the end of 2019.
About LISC
With residents and partners, LISC forges
resilient and inclusive communities of opportunity across America –
great places to live, work, visit, do business and raise families.
Since 1979, LISC has invested $20
billion to build or rehab 400,500 affordable homes and
apartments and develop 66.8 million square feet of retail,
community and educational space. To learn more, visit
www.lisc.org.
About Atrium Health
Atrium Health, previously
Carolinas HealthCare System, one of the nation's leading and most
innovative healthcare organizations, provides a full spectrum of
healthcare and wellness programs throughout the Southeast region.
Its diverse network of care locations includes academic medical
centers, hospitals, freestanding emergency departments, physician
practices, surgical and rehabilitation centers, home health
agencies, nursing homes and behavioral health centers, as well as
hospice and palliative care services. Atrium Health works to
enhance the overall health and well-being of its communities
through high-quality patient care, education and research programs,
and numerous collaborative partnerships and initiatives. To learn
more, visit https://atriumhealth.org/.
About Fannie Mae
Fannie Mae helps make the 30-year
fixed-rate mortgage and affordable rental housing possible for
millions of Americans. We partner with lenders to create housing
opportunities for families across the country. We are driving
positive changes in housing finance to make the home buying process
easier, while reducing costs and risk. To learn more,
visit fanniemae.com and follow us
on twitter.com/FannieMae.
Media Contacts:
Colleen
Mulcahy, for LISC
312-342-8244 or colleen@mulcahycommunications.com
Savannah Simons, Atrium
Health
704.631.0931 or Savannah.Simons@atriumhealth.org
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SOURCE LISC