1. Introduction

Community Opportunity Fund (COF) was awarded a contract through the Fannie Mae Sustainable Communities Innovation Challenge: Healthy Affordable Housing in May 2019 to deliver the Telehealth Intervention Programs (TIPs) at Grace West Manor, Newark, New Jersey, a 429-unit Section 8 senior and family property.

Fannie Mae’s Sustainable Communities Innovation Challenge collaborates across sectors to support innovative projects that are tackling the challenges of delivering stable, healthy, affordable housing.

In underserved communities, affordable housing and health outcomes of residents are inextricably linked. This project brings telehealth and health-related wrap around programming into an affordable housing setting, aiming to help residents manage chronic health conditions, improve general health and wellbeing and helping to build a culture of health in the community. The TIPs program aims to analyze whether preventative health care services at a large affordable housing community can improve the health and wellbeing of residents and reduce health care costs.

The project aims to leverage telehealth services to improve health outcomes for the residents of Grace West Manor in Newark, NJ. It addresses the deep health and racial inequities that exist in our country. People of color face higher rates of diabetes, obesity, stroke, heart disease and cancer than do whites. Grace West is a community of color, with approximately 87% of residents identifying as Black or African American. The telehealth program is a critical component of the racial and health equity work being carried out at Grace West. The program is, by design, a social justice program with wrap around services being coproduced with residents. The telehealth program offers residents a voice in their own health.

1. Introduction

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Community Opportunity Fund

TIPs Research Report 2021