WASHINGTON, Oct. 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A new report
produced by Asset Funders Network (AFN), in collaboration with
Yale's Medical School Program for
Recovery and Community Health, reveals that for many children 3-17
years of age, health and wealth inequities are standing in the way
of a prosperous future, especially with those of color.
The report, Pioneering Health and Wealth Integration for
Children, is the first in a series that builds off AFN's 2017
publication, The Health and Wealth Connection: Opportunities for
Investment Across the Life Course, that provided the initial
research and showcased philanthropic investments around the
intersection of asset-building and health promotion.
Why the focus on children age 3-17 years of age?
The
ages of 3-17 are a crucial developmental period for children as
they shape future health, behavioral patterns, and opportunities
that set the foundation for the well-being and wealth of future
adults. Children are not only the future decision-makers and
drivers of our economy; they will also become the parents of
generations to follow. Their financial, physical, and mental health
will directly affect the health-wealth outcomes of their
children.
"Despite the well-documented connection between health and
wealth, investing in this intersection is still a new approach for
many grantmakers," said Joe AntolĂn, Executive Director Asset
Funders Network. "Our investigations, while compiling this report,
reveal that a focus on families with children age 3-17 years,
offers investors abundant opportunities to pioneer new
innovations."
To better equip philanthropy to strategically invest in the
intersection of health and wealth, Pioneering Health and Wealth
Integration for Children outlines the important linkages
between health-wealth and children and how these interactions offer
better outcomes for children.
- Financial Stability: Families with savings are less likely to
be evicted, miss a payment, receive public benefits or face medical
debt. Families with quality health insurance are also more likely
to go to doctors and stay in better health.
- Safe, Resource-Rich Neighborhoods: Families with wealth have
more opportunity to live in neighborhoods with access to better
food choices, transportation, green spaces, libraries, better
resourced schools and less violence. Children growing up in these
neighborhoods are overall healthier and have higher incomes as
adults.
- Toxic Stress Protection: Wealth protects families from the
stress associated with financial insecurity. Repeated stress over
time can result in short-term coping behaviors in children that in
turn lead to negative health outcomes as adults.
- Less Incarceration: Children from families with economic
stability and financial assets are less likely to face
circumstances that increase the likelihood of incarceration such as
disinvested communities, living in neighborhoods with underfunded
schools, and chronic unemployment.
The report showcases a wide range of best practices that are
demonstrating the bidirectional impact on both a child's health and
wealth. These programs often build on existing resources in a
community. Thus, they offer philanthropy the opportunity to build
on their work through investments that replicate and scale existing
programs or pioneer more intentionally integrated strategies to
improve either a child's health or wealth or, in some instances,
both. The ultimate goal is to pioneer a path so that all children
are healthy, financially secure, and live in families with assets
regardless of race, income, gender, or zip code.
Contact:
Jennifer Farland
227693@email4pr.com
AFN
202-297-1261
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SOURCE Asset Funders Network