Health & Wellness

How can my giving support community wellness and healthy living in struggling neighborhoods and communities?

As a donor, you may be wondering how health care reform will affect individuals and families served by nonprofit health care providers, as well its impact on nonprofit organizations themselves. SmartLink has developed an overview of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act. Consider this summary a starting point. Over time, we will learn much more about how donors and communities can influence the health care for low-income communities.  Read more about the Acts.

Health and Poverty in the United States

Poverty is as much a public health crisis as it is an economic issue.  From diabetes to asthma to obesity, low-income people are at greater risk of acquiring chronic disease and face greater obstacles to treating disease.  Disadvantaged communities face unique health challenges that can result in even greater financial instability for families, missed work by individuals and greater school absences by children.

The World Health Organization defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”  For individuals and the community at large, health is determined not simply by the availability and quality of medical care, but by social factors that may not be strictly medical in nature. 

For example, strong public health helps to prevent communicable diseases and illness by ensuring that communities have safe drinking water and effective sewage systems.  The quality of our natural environment and the presence of toxins in the land, air or water directly affect our health. The availability and quality of housing, job security, and strong supportive networks each play a role in health and wellness. 

Because health is shaped by a variety of factors, many different sectors have a role to play in improving community health.

Social and economic standing strongly influences a person’s health, throughout life.  Sadly, the poorer one is, the worse their health outcomes will be.  Low-income communities are especially disadvantaged:  when poor health is concentrated, it becomes exacerbated by degraded natural and physical environments and a lack of services to help ameliorate the situation. 

Racial and ethnic disparities in health persist such that people of color – African Americans, Latinos, Asians, and American Indians – experience illnesses and injuries more severely and more frequently than their white counterparts. This is true even when controlling for income levels.  When considering the health of communities of color, one must acknowledge the damaging effects of enduring racial discrimination and oppression. 

There are many different avenues to pursue to improve the health of low-income populations. 

Making sure that low-income residents can access high quality, culturally competent medical care and services is critical and a relatively straightforward way to fund in health.  You might consider ways of creating healthier communities through a focus on prevention, so that fewer people get sick and injured in the first place. 

In the area of physical activity and nutrition, taking a preventive approach might entail supporting community groups to bring a grocery store to their neighborhood, or fix up a dilapidated park so children have a place to play.  In the areas of violence prevention and mental health, supporting the social and emotional development of youth and creating meaningful opportunities to engage in civic life, are effective approaches to building resilient, health-promoting communities.  

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What do you need to know about health and wellness?  The following links will help break down the components of health and wellness, and how your giving can influence this critical community issue.

How do you want to make change?  For each health sub-topic, you can explore five Take Action categories. Each walks you through a specific approach to a health and wellness topic and the ways your giving can make a difference. 

Learn More About Health & Wellness

• Accessing care
  
• Nutrition and physical activity
  
• Mental health
  
• Violence prevention
  

Measure the Results

• Measure Impacts