In 2002, residents from Cleveland's downtown neighborhoods embraced a program to improve good health and growth in their lives, neighborhoods and community.
This effort, known as Building Healthy Communities, started when St. Vincent Charity Medical Center and several partners commissioned a community health survey to provide a broad view of the needs of the Central Neighborhood, where the hospital is located.
Since then, Building Healthy Communities staff members have been working in collaboration with residents and service organizations to extend education and practical tools to Central Neighborhood.
Building Healthy Communities and its broad network of neighborhood partners motivate residents to work together with local organizations for positive change, good health and growth in their own lives, their neighborhoods, and the community through numerous programs, efforts and events.
Programming for all ages includes annual health fairs, Great American Smoke Out events, National Nutrition Month events, health-related Red Hat Society programming, youth employment opportunities, nutrition training and exercise classes, E.M.B.R.A.C.E. (Embracing African Cultural Experiences) events, MyCom after-school activities, and the Garden Boyz urban farm project, which has received support from Reimagining Cleveland.
Building Healthy Communities also presents opportunities for local residents to participate in and advocate for programs related to community diversion and delinquency avoidance. And, it includes leadership training and opportunities to help increase the neighborhood's voter registration, voter participation and understanding of government issues.
Today, the program continues as a grassroots collaboration that supports and empowers residents to address quality of life concerns. It has had a positive effect on hundreds of residents in the Central Neighborhood by providing a vision of what can be, as well as a vehicle for achieving the vision. Major sponsors of the Building Healthy Communities program include Arbor Park Village, Councilwoman Phyllis Cleveland, Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland, Tri-C Metro Campus, Sisters of Charity Health System and St. Vincent Charity Medical Center.
2475 EAST 22ND STREET
CLEVELAND, OH 44115
P: 216.696.5560
Recent Blog Posts
December 10, 2024
National newspaper Catholic Health World features Joseph & Mary’s Home in cover story article
In its December edition, Catholic Health World, the national newspaper of the Catholic Health Association of the United States, published a cover page article about Joseph & Mary’s Home. The article highlights how Joseph & Mary’s Home provides people experiencing homelessness with medical respite to heal after being discharged by hospitals, plus links to housing to be able to maintain health, stability and long-term wellness.
November 19, 2024
Healthy Learners highlights how it helps build healthier futures for families in latest newsletter
Healthy Learners, a ministry of the Sisters of Charity Health System, provides holistic services to empower children and families to access necessary healthcare, addressing the logistical and financial hurdles they face. The latest newsletter highlights success stories of helping families go from overwhelmed to empowered.
November 4, 2024
Joseph & Mary's Home newsletter showcases renovation of new, modernized space for men
The recent issue of The Journey, the biannual newsletter of Joseph & Mary’s Home, features a cover article about the renovation of a new space for Joseph’s Home that will be modernized and 100% handicapped accessible, and “A New Home for Healing” fundraising campaign that is helping make it possible. The newsletter also features a staff spotlight on the first full-time nurse at Joseph & Mary’s Home, news updates and more.
September 26, 2024
Joseph & Mary's Home puts the spotlight on alum who stabilized her health and moved into her own housing
Joseph & Mary’s Home, a ministry of the Sisters of Charity Health System, is Northeast Ohio’s first and only medical respite, offering medically-fragile adults experiencing homelessness the help they need to get back to health and forward to housing. Dawn, a former resident of Mary's Home, is one of the hundreds of adults who have stabilized their health and moved into their own home.