Ascension Wisconsin is investing $250,000 in the Sherman Park neighborhood to support, sustain and increase homeownership as well as other initiatives to improve housing access for families in the community. The donation helps the Sherman Park Homeowners Advancement Cooperative (SHAC) increase access to safe and affordable housing. This is particularly important in Sherman Park where 80% of the population is African American and 32% of families are living in poverty. This investment in the community supports Ascension Wisconsin’s mission to improve the lives of individuals and communities with a special focus on those living in poverty or otherwise vulnerable.
“We greatly appreciate Ascension Wisconsin for this initial donation to SHAC, an exciting and new organization owned and managed by its members – homeowners in the Sherman Park neighborhood,” Darrol Gibson, executive director of SHAC, said. “Our mission is to serve all residents and to collaborate with existing agencies and organizations to sustain and build on the shared strengths of all working together. Our vision is to empower current homeowners as the key investors in a healthy neighborhood.”
“There is a strong relationship between housing, one’s physical environment, and health. Ascension Wisconsin is committed to creating collaborative relationships to address our community’s most pressing health challenges,” said Reggie Newson, chief community impact and advocacy officer, Ascension Wisconsin. “Social inequities play a significant role in shaping health disparities. Going outside our hospital walls and making investments to improve health equity is vital to improving the well-being and vibrancy of our community.”
As an anchor in Sherman Park and Milwaukee, Ascension SE Wisconsin Hospital – St. Joseph Campus provides important, traditional healthcare services to care for the community. But there is much more than access to health care that impacts how healthy a community is. A report by the Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement concluded that health care accounts for 20% of a person’s overall health. The remaining 80% of individual health is dependent upon socioeconomic, physical environment and health behavior factors.
By providing support to non-profit organizations like SHAC, Ascension Wisconsin’s goal is to deliver “health beyond health care” to its patients and the community. SHAC will be reaching out to potential members, partners and supporters in the weeks and months ahead.
About Ascension Wisconsin
In Wisconsin, Ascension operates 17 hospital campuses, more than 100 related health care facilities and employs more than 1,100 primary and specialty care clinicians from Racine to Appleton. Serving Wisconsin since 1848, Ascension is a faith-based healthcare organization committed to delivering compassionate, personalized care to all, with special attention to persons living in poverty and those most vulnerable. Ascension is the largest non-profit and Catholic health system in the U.S., operating more than 2,600 sites of care – including 139 hospitals and more than 40 senior living facilities – in 19 states and the District of Columbia.
Visit www.ascension.org.