Natalie Moore, award-winning author of “The South Side: A Portrait of Chicago and American Segregation,” will be the keynote speaker at an upcoming event hosted by Corewell Health South, formerly Spectrum Health Lakeland on October 27.
Moore will be speaking at the upcoming Community Grand Rounds event, “Health, Housing, and Healing” on October 27 from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor. For folks who can’t make the trip down to Southwest Michigan, there is a free virtual option.
The event will be exploring the impact of housing patterns on health inequities, particularly within the context of segregation and structural racism. After the presentation, the audience will hear from a panel of local and regional housing experts who will share how they have galvanized communities to improve housing safety, affordability, and quality.
Research shows that people with stable housing are more likely to have longer life expectancies, healthier behaviors, and better overall health. People need quality housing that is safe, dry, clean, maintained, well-ventilated, and free from contaminants. Affordable housing enables people to be able to pay for other basic needs, like utilities, food, and medical care. Communities with high-quality and affordable housing see better overall health outcomes, and that in turn opens the door for more positive outcomes like a stronger workforce, stronger local economy, better educational outcomes, and more.
In addition to being an author, Moore is also a journalist whose enterprise reporting has tackled race, housing, economic development, food injustice, and violence for the National Public Radio Chicago Affiliate, WBEZ, and the Chicago Sun-Times.
To register for the free Community Grand Rounds event visit spectrumhealthlakeland.org/housing-summit.
Medical Moment is sponsored by Corewell Health.
