Executive Summary
- Quantitative research items completed for Houston’s Fifth Ward community include population, birth, and death reports (census data) that may be downloaded through the interactive mapping feature of the Community Health Information System (CHIS). This Phase I Research Report combines highlights of the quantitative findings with qualitative information obtained from interviews with community members.
- The Fifth Ward community is a neighborhood in rapid transition with regard to economic redevelopment. This effort springs largely from the leadership of area churches through community development corporations. Results of this movement include new housing developments in a variety of income ranges, increased business investment, community beautification efforts, and resident empowerment.
- The Fifth Ward’s rich history and culture heavily impact its community spirit, health, and well-being today. Leaders that have come from the Fifth Ward include Barbara Jordan and Mickey Leland, among others. A mecca for Africa American culture before desegregation, the Fifth Ward retains the pride of that era. There is a need to work with this community in a way that is respectful of its history in drawing from its internal strengths.
- Despite the economic revitalization of the area, serious problems persist. The infant mortality rate of the Greater Fifth Ward Super Neighborhood is almost twice that of the city as a whole; the percentage of births to mothers without a high school diploma is almost twice that of Harris County. The Greater Fifth Ward Super Neighborhood ranks second to last among all Houston Super Neighborhood for percentage of household incomes less than $15,000 annually.
- Community leaders note that community assets include a rich sense of history and pride, strong churches, and community development corporations. Among the weaknesses mentioned by community leaders are lack of housing, economic opportunity, and mental health care along with hopelessness and illiteracy. Some interviewed mentioned that these problems seem to be most severe in the extreme western portion of the Greater Fifth Ward.
- Community members note that roles SLEHC might play in helping to improve the health and well-being of the Fifth Ward include working collaboratively as a co-participant to discuss what might be best for the community; providing health data; convening collaborative groups to determine the depth of area problems; and funding programs to help the community provide additional reproductive health (including HIV/AIDS education), mental health, and parenting education programs.
Recommendations
Staff recommendations for potential next steps towards improving the community health and well-being within the Greater Fifth Ward community include:
- Forming a coordinated fund development program to address known needs within the community. SLEHC would be one of many different funders for this effort.
- Funding programs in reproductive health (including HIV/AIDS education), child mental health, and parenting education. (The area might also be a considered a pilot site for the faith-based street social work programs highlighted in “Faith-Based Institutions and High Risk Youth” published by Public/Private ventures.) Funding efforts should build on the successes of existing agencies and on the economic successes of the community redevelopment programs, expanding these economic gains to include improved health and well-being. Funding efforts should also focus on neighborhood-wide collaboration.
- Funding the initial publication of the Fifth Ward Resource Directory prepared jointly by Partners 5 West and the United Way;
- Increasing representation from the Greater Fifth Ward community on the St. Luke's Episcopal Health Charities Needs Assessment Technical Advisory Committee;
- Participating in collaboration building between community service agencies;
- Providing community health data to organizations involved in community development by sponsoring a Community Health Information System workshop in the Greater Fifth Ward;
- Completing participatory action research groups in the community;
- Working to facilitate understanding of the growing Hispanic population, possibly by inviting Fifth Ward community-based organizations to partner with Hispanic community-based agencies in the Second Ward.
The 5th Ward Community Health Assessment Report
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