The Health Opportunity and Equity (HOPE) Initiative, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, was launched with the belief that every person in the U.S., no matter their background or ZIP code, should have a fair and just opportunity for the best possible health and well-being. Their report, released at the end of July, provides data around a number of social determinants of health broken down by state as well as by race and ethnicity. This data highlights some of the deep-rooted racial disparities in physical and financial well-being that Prosperity Indiana members are working to address.

Here are some of the highlights for Indiana:

Indiana ranks 39^th in the country for adult health status, with 46.4% of adults reporting their health as very good or excellent. That percentage drops among blacks and Hispanics, with only 38.1% and 32.1% reporting very good or excellent health, respectively.

At 60.5%, Indiana ranks 29^th in the country for households with a livable income (greater than 250% of the federal poverty line). Again, there is a stark difference between racial and ethnic groups. The proportion of both whites and Asians with a livable income is over 60%, while the proportions of blacks and Hispanics are both closer to 40%.

One of Indiana’s biggest problem areas is the racial inequality around concentration of poverty. Concentration of poverty, for the purpose of this report, refers to the proportion of people living in neighborhoods with less than 20% of residents living in poverty. For white Hoosiers, that percentage is close to 85%. For blacks, the number goes down to 46%.

The one area Indiana fares relatively well in? Housing. Indiana ranks 9^th in the country for proportion of households spending no more than 30% of monthly household income on housing and related expenses. However, the racial divide still exists, with 76.3% of white households being affordable, while only 54.3% of black households are considered affordable.  Indiana also ranks 9^th in the country for homeownership rates, with 72.1% of households living in a home they own. That percentage again drops among minority groups – 40.7% for blacks, 55% for Hispanics, and 54.8% for Asians.

As a network, Prosperity Indiana members are working to improve numbers in every one of these categories, particularly for the most disadvantaged groups. Together, we work to close these gaps so that everyone in our communities has the opportunity to live a healthy, prosperous life.   

Want to learn more about how your work relates to community health? Check out these resources from the Build Healthy Places Network or dive deep into the data with the full HOPE Initiative Report.