- Published: Friday, October 21, 2022 10:22 AM
CHAMPAIGN – The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated the health inequities facing communities throughout Illinois. Immigrant Cooperative with Champaign-Urbana Public Health District has been awarded funding to implement health equity strategies, State Senator Scott Bennett announced Thursday.
“It is to no surprise that the pandemic left major health gaps in Illinois’ rural and minority communities,” said Bennett (D-Champaign). “These communities that have suffered are now able to see improvements in bettering resident’s health and well-being through the ARISE program.”
Activating Relationships in Illinois for Systemic Equity (ARISE) is a joint initiative of the Illinois Department of Public Health’s Center for Minority Health Services and The Center for Rural Health, in collaboration with Well-Being and Equity (WE) in the World.
Champaign-Urbana Public Health District is one of the 18 organizations across Illinois awarded funding to address systemic health disparities highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ARISE intends to support socio-economically disadvantaged and historically marginalized communities outside of Cook County that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Further, organizations will be able to address enduring health inequities in their communities that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The selected ARISE Community Equity Zone communities will engage in a rigorous “learning-and-doing” capacity building program to advance health equity in the short, medium and long term. The community coalitions will address inequities in mental, physical and social well-being in communities that are experiencing the brunt of these disparities by connecting people to vaccinations, food, and other well-being needs. They will also address underlying community needs such as humane housing, reliable transportation, and the root causes of these inequities, including racism and poverty.
“The communities that already had preexisting inequities prior to the pandemic were made worse,” said Bennett. “Through grant programs like ARISE and community efforts, we can put the state on a path toward greater post-pandemic healing.”
To learn more about the ARISE initiative, people can visit www.weintheworld.org/arise-project.
