The Wabash Valley faces significant health challenges, primarily driven by high rates of obesity, behavioral health issues, and tobacco/vape usage. Residents face limited access to behavioral health resources and healthy foods. Barriers such as transportation, cost, and knowledge of resources prevent people from getting the care they need. Good physical and mental health influences everything from how well a child is able to learn in the classroom to how much an adult is able to earn in the workplace. 

In addition to medical care, a person’s neighborhood can affect their opportunities to be healthy. Resources like full-service grocery stores, playgrounds and walking trails, and reliable transportation are not equally distributed across all neighborhoods. Living in a neighborhood with crime, violence, and instability is likely to be stressful; chronic stress in childhood has been linked with poor long-term health outcomes. These adverse conditions may limit the ability of caregivers to create supportive environments for their families, despite great effort. 

United Way invests in solutions that improve access to the care people need and help build communities where all residents can thrive. Whether expanding treatment, recovery, and prevention programs for substance use disorders, supporting new behavioral health resources for children, providing emergency funding for basic needs, or creating opportunities for …..  neighborhoods, United Way is helping create safe and inclusive environments where everyone can enjoy a culture of health.