Last year, nearly 1.6 million Ohioans lived in poverty. A new study is connecting poverty with health, showing where you live in Ohio has a lot to do with how healthy you are.
The study by Policy Matters Ohio shows 10 percent of Ohio’s neighborhoods were in areas of concentrated poverty. Amanda Woodrum says that’s a twofold increase over 2000.
“There’s health damaging neighborhood conditions from mold and lead in the homes to a lack of green space, a lack of healthy foods, and add into that the stress of not feeling safe in your neighborhood, that these all impact the health of residents," Woodrum says
According to the study, over 700,000 Ohioans live in “deep poverty,” meaning they have incomes under half of the federal poverty level.
Black Ohioans are 2.6 times more likely to live in poverty than white residents. And they’re 30 percent more likely to die from heart disease than white residents.
Woodrum says Ohio ranks 47th in the country for how poorly the health of lower income residents compared to higher income Ohioans.
Policy Matters Ohio recommended three changes on the state level, including investing in education, increasing the minimum wage and access to public benefits, and target state investments in those areas of concentrated poverty.
