Health inequities among New Yorkers are large, persistent, and increasing. The challenge to living a long and healthy life depends on whether a person lives in a safe neighborhood; experiences racism or discrimination; has access to medical care, food and stable housing; or has adequate income, knowledge and opportunities to make healthy choices.
Additionally, despite spending $10,000 per person on healthcare in New York each year, our systems fail to support a person’s health outside the four walls of medical care organizations.
A lot of that has to do with the fact that when a person is referred from healthcare organizations to social services, there is little follow-up to ensure that the person receives the help they need. On the other hand, even though thousands of social services and other community resources exist in New York City, poor coordination between these resources means that New Yorkers are often unable to get the help they need even when it exists in their own backyard.
New Yorkers continue to have some of the worst health outcomes in the United States, despite all the systems already in place to support good health.
Together, these disjointed systems place the burden on the person to find their own care, deal with multiple agencies, and go through a time-consuming process of locating and coordinating various resources. The result? New Yorkers continue to have some of the worst health outcomes in the United States, despite all the systems already in place to support good health.
Public Health Solutions’ WholeYouNYC aims to solve these problems by placing people at the center of care and connecting them with a network of resources to address their unmet needs. This trustworthy and reliable community resource network brings together over 500 organizations that offer 800+ programs across all boroughs of New York City ranging from food, housing, employment, legal aid, youth training and development, health insurance, maternal support, sexual health services, and so much more.
The Roadmap Advocacy Coalition is a diverse, multidisciplinary stakeholder group that was formed to advise and inform the work of WholeYouNYC. The group is broadly representative of the diverse communities PHS serves and includes representatives of organizations large and small. In addition to ensuring that WholeYouNYC is person-centered and responsive to community priorities, the coalition also advocates for the policies and practices that will support the network’s long-term sustainability and impact on health equity in NYC.
WholeYouNYC alleviates the burden on the most underserved; is an antidote to a disjointed social care system; can help reverse the cost crisis in health care; and reduces gaps in health and racial equity for New Yorkers.
New Yorkers impacted by COVID-19 received services
diverse NYC community-based partners
unique participants served
referrals made to community-based organizations
in estimated healthcare savings
New Yorkers have been counting on Public Health Solutions for over 60 years. That’s because we tackle problems around health head on. We build pathways for New Yorkers to reach their potential; we bridge the gap between the city’s social service organizations and healthcare; and we put people at the center of care.