THE PROBLEM | CLOSE TO CARE — FAR FROM HEALTH
Despite being home to some of the best healthcare in the country, Cleveland is home to some of the worst environmental conditions to live in.
From lead exposure to poor air quality, the risks embedded in our neighborhoods are not random — they are patterned, predictable, and preventable. The result: higher rates of asthma, cardiovascular disease, and avoidable suffering in communities that have been overlooked for generations.
This is environmental injustice. And it is happening here.
Our research engaging directly with residents in the neighborhoods of Mount Pleasant, northern Lee–Harvard, Lee–Seville and Lee–Miles, revealed deep-seated systemic challenges that negatively impact daily life.
Because our neighborhoods...
lack access
FOOD INSECURITY
hits
carry pollution
LUNG DISEASE
impacts
limit prevention
DIABETES
affects
compound risk
DISABILITY
touches
OUR SOLUTION | BUILDING HEALTH EQUITY
Members of Greater Cleveland Congregations live, work and worship in neighborhoods directly impacted by environmental injustice. And as we have done since 2011, we don’t wait for change — we make it. Here’s how we are building health equity in our neighborhoods.
Primary Care Practices | GCC is building five nurse practitioner-led primary care practices, the first opening in the Lee-Harvard neighborhood in 2026. These not-for-profit clinics are directly connected to our neighborhoods, not outside interests. In the neighborhoods around these primary care centers, we will help build multi-generational communities where seniors can age in place and where youth from the neighborhood can be trained and then hired to care for their community.
Health Connectors | GCC implements several types of human contacts for our neighbors to utilize, Health Connectors being one of them. Our trained Health Connectors live in the neighborhoods they serve, playing a vital role in bridging the gap between residents and local healthcare providers. Our Health Connectors check in with those needing care and ensure their medical needs are met. They are also equipped to identify deeper systemic issues that affect health — housing instability, lack of transportation, food insecurity — and to help community members advocate for the resources they deserve.
Primary care is the foundation of good health — the most important care we can access — providing early detection, timely diagnosis, and ongoing support. Through our Healthy Blocks Initiative, GCC is leading the way in making quality, primary care accessible to our neighborhoods.
GET INVOLVED
If you live in Mount Pleasant, northern Lee-Harvard, Lee-Seville and Lee-Miles we want to hear from you.
TAKE OUR SURVEY to share what environmental issues you face in your neighborhood.