The Mental Health Impact of Chicago's Vacant Housing Ordinance

The Adler Institute on Social Exclusion invites you to an interactive two-day workshop on September 28th and 29th to learn how to apply a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) to a recently proposed amendment to Chicago’s Vacant Housing Ordinance. HIA is an emerging practice used to inform public policy and promote the conditions for optimal health.
 
Proposed by Alderman Pat Dowell (D-3rd Ward), the amendment would strengthen the City’s ability to ensure that financial institutions that foreclose on homes maintain and secure their vacant properties. The purpose of the HIA workshop will be to assess the probable impacts of the amendment on the determinants of community mental health such as crime, violence, property values, business investment, tax base and public services.
 
The anticipated outcomes of the two-day gathering are to: (1) increase local communities’ ability to conduct HIAs and (2) demonstrate how HIAs can be used to formulate recommendations that promote community mental health. The recommendations will inform a policy brief for presentation to the sponsoring Alderman and submission during the “Public Comments” period when the legislation goes before the full City Council in November. 
 
See agenda.
 
Breakfast and lunch will be served.
 
Please RSVP via email to Sherri Boyle by September 15th at

. Please note “HIA” in the subject line. If you have any questions about the ordinance or HIA, please contact us at (312) 662-4012.