Near Eastside Quality of Life Health Assessment Underway!

Its incredibly important to assess the health of neighborhoods with a high population of residents with low socioeconomic status, especially those as diverse as the Near Eastside. As resilient as low income households have grown to be, providing helpful resources stars with assessing what needs the neighborhood has.

According to Indy Vitals, important statistics such as the median household income, high school graduation rate and number of violent crimes committed have all improved since 2010, but what about the number of neighbors that feel safe in their own homes or those that are experiencing domestic violence? Do neighbors on the Near Eastside have the tools to decipher a nutrition label? Do those that have been diagnosed with a mental illness have access to medication and/or therapy? Additionally, the statics on Indy Vitals have not been updated since 2019. How has the pandemic affected families on the Near Eastside? The Quality of Life Health Assessment seeks to ask and answer those questions.

At the top of 2022, Westminster Neighborhood Services began working with the Marion County Health Department (MCHD) to put together a health assessment for the Near Eastside. After scanning previous assessments and reports put together by MCHD, Westminster put together an assessment with the assistance of an intern from the Marian University Social Work program. Using a biopsychosocial model, we put together an assessment with a total of five pages and 40 questions. The assessment covers food security, addiction, and safety, as well as mental and physical health.

Throughout the month of April, 20 responses to the health assessment were collected from Near Eastside neighbors. On May 21st, additional responses will be collected by our Americorps VISTA member at Westminster’s health fair before reaching out to partner organizations for help getting additional responses and generating a report.

Azaria Brown

Azaria is the Volunteer Coordinator at Westminster Neighborhood Services. She focuses on recruiting, retaining and recognizing WNS volunteers and building their mentorship program. For any questions about volunteering with WNS or about the health assessment, contact her at azaria.brown@westmin.org.