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Ideastream Public Media is bringing you stories about the surge in gun violence plaguing many Northeast Ohio neighborhoods. Gun violence is not new, but mass shootings and community violence have reached a fever pitch — destroying lives and tearing some communities apart. We're talking with residents, activists, victims and experts about prevention strategies and solutions.

MetroHealth unveils new affordable housing complex in Cleveland

The new affordable housing complex is called Via Sana, which means healthy way in Spanish. It's on the corner of 25th Street and MetroHealth Drive.
Lisa Ryan
/
Ideastream Public Media
The new affordable housing complex is called Vía Sana, which means "healthy way" in Spanish. It's on the corner of West 25th Street and MetroHealth Drive.

On Monday, MetroHealth held a grand opening for its new affordable housing complex on the West Side, which officials said is a way to address health disparities in Cleveland.

Housing and health are intertwined, and unsafe or unsuitable housing conditions can lead to health inequities, said Alan Nevel, MetroHealth's chief diversity officer.

“If you don’t have a safe place to live, if you don’t have gainful employment, if you live in a food desert, all of those things compound themselves to the fact that it’s very difficult to stay healthy," he said.

This is a two-bedroom, one bath apartment in Via Sana.
Lisa Ryan
/
Ideastream Public Media
This apartment in Vía Sana has two bedrooms and one bathroom.

The residence is called Vía Sana, which means "healthy way" in Spanish. It's located in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood, where more than half of the residents are Hispanic or Latino and more than a third live in poverty, according to figuresfrom the Center for Community Solutions.

Researchhas shown that access to safe and stable housing contributes to good health outcomes. Unsafe housing situations can lead to issues like elevated blood lead levels, stress and other health hazards.

“Your health outcomes are predicated, really 80% of them, are predicated on things that have nothing to do with your anatomy or biology or chemistry," said Nevel.

The largest units in Via Sana are the three-bedroom, two-bath townhouses. They have a private entrance off of Sackett Avenue.
Lisa Ryan
/
Ideastream Public Media
The largest units in Vía Sana are the three-bedroom, two-bath townhouses. They have private entrances off of Sackett Avenue.

Rent at the 72-unit complex, located at the corner of West 25th Street and MetroHealth Drive, will vary depending on a person’s income. For example, if a person makes less than $17,000 per year, a one bedroom unit would be about $350 per month, according to community manager Erica Haize.

“So that’s very affordable," she said. "For a two bedroom, [it] will be like $575.”

The rent goes up if residents earn more money, but officials say it will still be based on their income.

Haize said her ability to speak Spanish will allow her to reach a community that has a large Hispanic population.

A bedroom within the two-bed unit at Via Sana.
Lisa Ryan
/
Ideastream Public Media
A bedroom within the two-bedroom unit at Vía Sana.

The complex is now accepting applications. The first residents will move in later this month, officials said.

MetroHealth’s nonprofit affiliate CCH Development is partnering with developer The NRP Group on the project. Vía Sana is the first of many affordable housing complexes the hospital is planning.

The building will also address other social determinants of health, through its Economic Opportunity Center, which will be operated in partnership with Cuyahoga Community College to provide job training, financial and digital literacy training and access to Tri-C classes.

Lisa Ryan is a health reporter at Ideastream Public Media.