Everyone should have the opportunity to make choices allowing them to live a long, healthy life regardless of their income, education, or ethnic background. Research shows both income and wealth have a big impact on health by affecting the ability to afford healthy food, have safe and stable housing, and experience lower rates of poverty. To understand how economic stability impacts health, it’s important to look at conditions such as:
A living-wage job or better makes it easier to buy healthier food, get better education (for themselves and their children), live in better neighborhoods, and afford healthcare services – which all directly affect health.
Understand Local Conditions
The Opportunity Atlas
Interactive map showing employment rates, hourly wages, average hours worked per week, job growth, density of jobs, and other measures by county. Source: The Opportunity Atlas
Healthy People 2020
Social determinant of health focused on employment. Source: Healthy People 2020
Career Advance
Initiative providing parents free career training in healthcare field and their children free access to high quality early education. Source: Ray Marshall Center
Book Trade Charity
Hachette and Penguin Random House publishing groups have created initiatives to provide interns with subsidized housing. Source: The Guardian
Living expenses is the amount of money needed to sustain a basic level of living, usually including housing, transportation, utilities, health care, food, and taxes.
Understand Local Conditions
Living Wage Calculator
A calculator that shows poverty, minimum and living wage standards at the county and city level. Source: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Michigan
A summary of how much income a family must earn to meet basic needs, with the amount varying by family composition and where they live in Michigan. Source: University of Washington School of Social Work
Second Wave Michigan - Southeast Michigan
Article describing transportation initiatives while ensuring social equity in Detroit. Source: Detroit Mobility Innovation Initiative
Poverty is defined as a state of being extremely poor. The governing body sets the income level for who is considered impoverished. Being in poverty usually means poorer housing conditions, eating habits, healthcare, social needs, education, etc. All of these outcomes have a major effect on health.
Understand Local Conditions
The Opportunity Atlas
Interactive map showing income and poverty data by county. Source: The Opportunity Atlas
Growing Wealth Divide is Bad for Health
Insights on how the growing wealth divide in Michigan and the United States is affecting health. Source: Unnatural Causes
Basic Statistics
Basic statistics on poverty in the United States. Source: Talk Poverty
Racial Wealth Gap
An overview of the economic conditions that exist across different racial and ethnic groups in America. Source: Economic Policy Institute
Change Local Conditions
Hospital Takes on Role as Community Developer
Community Works evolved to meet the changing needs of our neighbors, and now it provides early childhood development programs, financial education and support, workforce development, open space management, and reentry and youth development services. Source: ChangeLab Solutions
Poverty Solutions That Actually Work
Recent summary research reports from Yale and MIT found how correct aid can relieve poverty if it is comprehensive and gives people a productive asset. Source: Deseret News
Out of Poverty, Family-Style
The Family Independence Initiative (F.I.I.) uses a radically different approach from the traditional American social service model to empower entire families alleviate themselves from poverty. Source: The New York Times
Leverage SDoH Intersection Examples
America Works - Fighting Poverty with Jobs
America Works is a program that has been working to help vulnerable populations gain employment since 1984. Source: NationSwell
Can You Fight Poverty by Paying Kids to Go to School?
In an effort to stop the poverty cycle in Memphis, a government organization is paying students to get good grades and paying adults if they have a full time job. Source: Politico Magazine
Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council
The FFIEC Geocoding/Mapping System (System) helps financial institutions meet their legal requirement to report information on mortgage, business, and farm loan applications.
(Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council)
Distressed Community Index
The Distressed Communities Index (DCI) combines seven complementary metrics into a broad-based assessment of community economic well-being in the United States.
(Economic Innovation Group)
Michigan Bureau of Labor Market
This website includes data sets on Michigan and U.S. Jobless Rates.
(Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget)