On March 5, more than 400 people from over 100 organizations came together for a Community Convening at Malcolm X College to mark West Side United’s one year anniversary.

West Side United officially launched in January 2018 as a collaborative of health care institutions, residents, educators, non-profits, businesses, government agencies and faith-based institutions that work, live and congregate on Chicago’s West Side. The collaborative’s goal is to make their neighborhoods stronger, healthier and more vibrant places to live. In particular, West Side United is focused on the social determinants of health, with the ambitious goal of reducing the 16-year life expectancy gap between the Loop and the West Side by 50% by 2030. The collaborative is the largest cross-sector, anchor mission collaborative in the nation.

“This is fundamentally about teamwork, [the element] necessary to achieve greater equity on the West Side of Chicago,” Dr. Matt Davis, MD, MAPP, SVP and Chief, Community Health Transformation at Lurie Children’s Hospital – one of the collaborative’s partners – explained at the Convening. “Joint action across hospitals is remarkably uncommon across the U.S., but is remarkably common here in Chicago.”

Since September 2016, Civic Consulting Alliance — together with our pro bono partners A.T. Kearney, Bain & Co., CIBC, KPMG, McKinsey & Co., PwC, Root Inc., SG2, and TLSG — have helped to stand up WSU, providing infrastructure and support, establishing a governing body, and amplifying the support needed to develop and launch priority initiatives.

At the Convening, stakeholders highlighted recent accomplishments across West Side United’s four focus areas: Health and Healthcare, Economic Vitality, Neighborhood and Physical Environment, and Education.

Health and Healthcare

• Awarded a $125,000 Community Health Worker Expansion Grant and $125,000 in Mental Health Access Expansion Grants

Economic Vitality

• Launched a Medical Assistant Pathway Program (MAPP), which creates career pathways at partner hospitals for in-demand healthcare roles
• Invested $1.7 million in affordable housing, youth services and capacity-building for local nonprofits

Neighborhood and Physical Environment

• Launched six initiatives addressing food insecurity

Education

• Provided 400 high school internship opportunities at West Side United hospitals

Grantees and community partners also shared personal experiences with West Side United. Daniel Vergara, a counselor at one of the Community Health Worker grantees –Esperanza Health Center – shared his experience growing up in Little Village, including his decision to become a school counselor in order to “be the adult that I needed as a child for the children that are currently living in Little Village.”

“Because of West Side United we [serve] Hammond Elementary, a school about a mile away from where I went to school, [where] I provide individual and group counseling,” Vergara said. “It’s really an honor and a pleasure to be there, because these children really need these services.”

During the Convening, West Side United leadership announced a short-term vision for West Side United, including: launching new health focus areas on hypertension and maternal child health; securing more than 3,000 new West Side hires and $100 million in new West Side procurement spending by 2021 across West Side United hospitals; and launching a voucher program for healthy foods to serve 1,000 families per month by 2021.

“This collaborative is the best thing that has come to the West Side in many, many years, and those of us that are thinking about it should realize it,” said Angela Taylor, a member of the Garfield Park Community Council, during the Convening. “Our opportunity has come, we should seize the moment and get involved.