GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Kent County Community Health Needs Assessment was just released.
The purpose of the assessment is to understand the most pressing health issues in the county.
The study is conducted every three years in partnership with five local hospital systems.
This go around, top-most issues were identified as:
- Housing
- Health insurance
- Access to medical care
- Access to healthy food
“This is the first time since we’ve done these joint needs assessments since 2011 that housing was prioritized as a top need,” Maris Brummel, a public health epidemiologist for Kent County, said.
Housing claimed the top spot for concern.
FOX 17 combed through some of the findings in the assessment.
Homelessness increased by 70% from 2019–2023, and Black residents are disproportionately affected.
Increasing rent was also identified as an issue, with the cost of rent going up 36% from 2017–2022.
One in three people in Kent County are living in housing that is not considered affordable. That means the cost for their housing is above 30% of their income.
One in five people spend more than half their money on housing.
Housing is a health issue too because of environmental factors like lead paint and poor air quality.
“I think stress is a big part of it. But really it’s just a basic need that people ... they need a safe, stable place to live, to be able to do anything else related to their health. If they don’t have safe, stable, affordable housing, they can’t work on other health issues,” Brummel said.
The study is 164 pages long. It is often used for things like grant writing.
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