INDIANAPOLIS — The neighborhoods along Meridian Street between Interstate 65/70 and Fall Creek are falling short of health and economic standards compared to surrounding communities. The Indy Health District hopes to change that within the next decade.
The district was unveiled Monday morning and is a non-profit partnership between IU Health, Ivy Tech Community College, Citizens Energy Group, and the Children's Museum of Indianapolis. It hopes to encourage the development of housing, healthcare, and parks in the Near Northside.
"The fact that there's a 20-year life expectancy gap between here and a handful of miles away is alarming in and of itself," said Indy Health District executive director Jamal Smith. "The importance of closing the gap, you see that in the eyes of the people you sit and talk to. You hear the urgency in the stories."
The Indy Health District includes the areas around the four core organizations involved with the project. It covers the neighborhoods west of Meridian Street and east of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Street between St. Clair Street and Crown Hill Cemetery.
Wayne Gray grew up near the Indy Health District press conference site on 22nd and Illinois Streets. He said the organizations behind the district have work to do.
"A lot of people just sit down there and drink and leave trash everywhere," Gray said. "It's a lot cleaner than what it used to be, but it is what it is."
However, he said he is encouraged by the development that has happened before the Indy Health District announcement.
"A lot of this stuff wasn't here, even that storage building," Gray said. "I'm glad they're doing something to take the people off the street and off of these corners."
