Company Profile
Garfield Park Rite to Wellness Collaborative
Company Overview
The mission of the Garfield Park Rite to Wellness Collaborative (GPRWC) is to improve the health, wellness and quality of life for residents of the East and West Garfield Park neighborhoods in Chicago. We bring together community members and stakeholder organizations to address the socioeconomic, systemic, individual and environmental factors impacting wellness. In just a few years, we have had significant successes in launching important community projects that will lead to long term improvements in quality of life. Our vision: a vibrant, safe and healthy Garfield Park!
Company History
GPRWC came together starting in 2020 to change a horrifying statistic: residents of Garfield Park have a thirteen-year lower life expectancy than residents of the loop, just three miles away. This “death gap” is the result of conditions including poverty and lack of economic opportunity, lack of access to quality health care and wellness opportunities, substance use, gun violence, lack of high-quality food, the psychological impact of multi-generational trauma, and decades of systemic disinvestment and racism.
We have had some exciting early successes. Our current projects include building the Sankofa Wellness Village, a transformational capital project that will bring a wellness center, arts and advocacy center and entrepreneurship hub to the community; developing a quality of life plan that will form the basis for future improvement projects; activating safe spaces in Garfield Park; leading wellness activities and events; offering youth programming; partnering in the community grocer initiative; and connecting community with engagement opportunities, information and resources.
Notable Accomplishments / Recognition
We have launched the construction of the Sankofa Wellness Village, a transformational capital project in the West Garfield Park neighborhood of Chicago; turned an open-air drug market into a community plaza and skate park; initiated community-driven quality of life planning; engaged community in health and wellness education and activities; and more.