NYC Health Equity Project

Despite improvements in health for all New Yorkers, significant social, economic, and racial health disparities across a wide array of health outcomes persist. In an effort to focus more targeted attention on addressing these disparities, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) established District Public Health Offices (DPHOs) in the city's poorest neighborhoods, which bear a disproportionate burden of illness and premature mortality. The DPHOs serve as "mini Health Departments" by providing community-specific approaches to improving health.

The New York City Health Equity Project, a three-year project made possible by grant funding through FPHNY, is a collaboration between the DPHOs and Hunter College - City University of New York. The program works with youth groups serving high school age students in North and Central Brooklyn, East and Central Harlem, and the South Bronx to raise awareness about the underlying causes of poor health affecting these communities and to lead youth through advocacy efforts to address some of those issues.