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Jamal Smith, executive director for the Indy Health District, speaking at the launch of the Mosaic Center
Ben Thorp / WFYILife expectancy data in Indianapolis shows significant disparities between neighborhoods. In some areas, including the near north side, residents are only expected to live into their 60s.
It’s been nearly a year since the launch of the Indy Health District, an initiative that hopes to change those statistics.
The Indy Health District's goal is to make sure large investments into the city's near north side, including a new downtown Indianapolis Hospital, don't leave people who live in the area behind.
Jamal Smith is the executive director for the district, which is supported through partnerships with IU Health, Ivy Tech, the Indianapolis Children’s Museum, Citizens Energy, and several neighborhood groups. He said the goal is to improve people's lives.
“We want to do so in a way that targets that life expectancy, which is extremely important to the bottom line as well,” Smith said.
Smith said the district is tackling the issue through housing initiatives and career supports. The district was part of the launch of a physical location for the Mosaic Center last month, a center dedicated to placing residents and IU staff into career and training opportunities.
The district has also been part of an affordable housing development in the area and the launch of a new trail segment.
Smith said feedback from neighborhood members led them to look into other opportunities — particularly efforts to bring a grocery store and childcare options to the district. Those are things the district isn’t interested in directly running but has plans to incentivize.
“How do we encourage or influence the development of a grocery store? And I would say, very carefully, methodically, and with some persistence,” Smith said. “And so we have been diving into this area for a while now.”
According to Smith, there are a few districts like theirs across the country where large institutions have tried to intentionally invest in the surrounding community.
He pointed to the University Circle in Cleveland as an example of how the Indy Health District hopes to operate.
“They embody, you know, a lot of the elements that we're embodying too, right, including the art and culture,” Smith said.
But the Indy Health District is set apart in its size, encompassing roughly 1,500 acres in Indianapolis and stretching across some five neighborhoods, including Crown Hill, Meridian Highland, Highland Vicinity, Ransom Place and Historic Flanner House Homes.
Success for the health district will ultimately be measured by life expectancy changes in the region, Smith said.
“I want my neighborhood invested in. I want my community to look better, be better, feel better,” he said, referencing what neighbors want. “What they don't want is a historic displacement that typically comes by way of gentrification, and so we are trying to figure out how to prevent that.”
Contact Health Reporter Benjamin Thorp at bthorp@wfyi.org.
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