Charlotte, N.C.-based Atrium Health, previously Carolinas HealthCare System, is working with the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) to embed health and social services into housing investments made through the Charlotte Housing Opportunity Investment Fund (CHOIF).
The project received funding from Fannie Mae’s Sustainable Communities Innovation Challenge, an open competition exploring ways to address the affordable housing crisis in America. Five proposals received funding as part of the second phase of the $10 million initiative, which focuses on the intersection of affordable housing and health.
LISC and Atrium Health will use the contract award to develop a new financing mechanism that will address social determinants of health, such as employment and access to healthy food, as part of a holistic approach to housing development through the CHOIF—a joint effort among Foundation for The Carolinas, the City of Charlotte, corporations and philanthropic organizations to expand the city's supply of quality housing. LISC is the fund manager for the CHOIF, which is expected to raise and invest $50 million to finance approximately 1,500 units of housing by 2020.
The goal is to improve quality-of-life outcomes for Charlotte residents, offer a model that other cities and states could replicate, and encourage health-related companies to invest in affordable housing as part of a broader strategy to catalyze gains for the people and communities they serve.
The Fannie Mae contract will help further research and development over the next two years in order to integrate health-related services into the CHOIF housing investment plan.
Atrium Health, which has more than 40 hospitals and more than 900 care locations across the Carolinas, has numerous collaborative community engagement and partnerships focused on community health priority activities.
“When it comes to keeping populations healthy, we know our responsibilities do not begin or end at the hospital door,” said Alisahah Cole, M.D., Atrium Health's chief community impact officer, in a prepared statement. “This important work starts in our own backyard and particularly within our most vulnerable neighborhoods, which don't have access to health services, fresh foods or transportation, which greatly impact health. Together, with LISC and Fannie Mae, we will build upon our existing work and commitment to improve the health and wellbeing of our Charlotte community and establish a sustainable affordable housing model ensuring residents have access to coordinated services.”
