{"id":388591,"date":"2025-11-18T23:03:34","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T23:03:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/388591\/"},"modified":"2025-11-18T23:03:34","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T23:03:34","slug":"austin-hope-center-first-of-its-kind-bringing-pediatric-health-services-to-west-side-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/388591\/","title":{"rendered":"Austin HOPE Center First Of Its Kind, Bringing Pediatric Health Services To West Side Children"},"content":{"rendered":"

AUSTIN \u2014 A health and wellness facility under construction in Austin aims to provide high-quality medical care for neighborhood children as the first pediatric specialty and behavioral health facility on the West Side.<\/p>\n

The Austin HOPE Center<\/a> is set to open in summer 2026 at 5036 W. Chicago Ave. The 25,000-square-foot center is a partnership between Lurie Children\u2019s Hospital, the nonprofit Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives, a local church nonprofit and other city organizations. <\/p>\n

The development, located in Austin\u2019s Soul City Corridor<\/a>, is the latest effort to curb the life expectancy gap between the West Side and other areas of the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday we are raising more than steel \u2014 we are raising hope,\u201d said Contrell Jenkins, CEO of Stone Community Development Corporation and pastor at Lively Stone Missionary Baptist Church, 4938 W. Chicago Ave. \u201cThe Austin HOPE Center will stand as an anchor of possibility, proving that when faith, partnership, and purpose come together, transformation can happen right where it\u2019s needed most.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jenkins was among the leaders and officials who gathered at the center Monday for a beam-raising ceremony. <\/p>\n

In addition to specialty pediatric care from Lurie\u2019s, the center will offer adolescent medicine services, behavior health programs and care for chronic conditions including asthma, high blood pressure, sickle cell disease, fatty liver disease and weight management.<\/p>\n

The center will house administrative offices for mental health and substance use provider Thresholds. Community wellness spaces and family resources will also be offered on-site.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Austin HOPE Center is set to open in summer 2026 at 5036 W. Chicago Ave. Credit: Michael Liptrot\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

\"\"The Austin HOPE Center is set to open in summer 2026 at 5036 W. Chicago Ave. Credit: Gregory Ram\u00f3n Design Studio, Inc.<\/p>\n

The center broke ground in June 2024, initially named the Austin Community Health Hub. The ground floor of the three-story facility will have dedicated offices, program space, a cafe and multiple community areas, according to Austin Weekly<\/a>. The second floor will include Lurie Children\u2019s clinics and specialty care for pediatric behavioral and physical health. Third-floor space will be administrative offices for Thresholds.<\/p>\n

Funding for the $22 million project includes $5 million from Mayor Brandon Johnson\u2019s Housing and Economic Development Bond<\/a>, the first project build with bond funds, according to Ciere Boatright, Department of Planning and Development commissioner. New Market Tax Credits and philanthropic contributions will provide additional funding, and fundraising for the center is ongoing, organizers said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Austin HOPE Center\u2019s mission of promoting health equity and improving the lives of West Siders is the latest of several ongoing efforts in the area. The Sankofa Wellness Village is a sprawling development project in West Garfield Park<\/a> that will include a health center and business incubator. The Collaborative Bridges Wellness Center<\/a> is a Garfield Park facility that brings together eight West Side organizations offering behavioral health services.<\/p>\n

A 2021 city study showed the life expectancy gap is growing between Black and non-Black Chicagoans<\/a>. Black people in Chicago live an estimated 9.2 fewer years than non-Black people as they struggle with higher death rates from diabetes-related issues, homicides, HIV and opioids, the report found.<\/p>\n

And on the West Side, the \u201cdeath gap\u201d is even more stark. A 2015 study by Virginia Commonwealth University<\/a> that calculated life expectancies reported that residents of the Loop lived on average until 85. But residents of Garfield Park, just 15 minutes away, lived 15 fewer years, to only until 69 on average.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to get to the point where the zip code is not the more important determinant of your health and well-being,\u201d said Dr. Tom Shanley, Lurie Children\u2019s president and CEO. \u201cThat\u2019s what this project is going to make sure that we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"The Austin HOPE Center is set to open in summer 2026 at 5036 W. Chicago Ave. Credit: Michael Liptrot\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

\"\"The Austin HOPE Center is set to open in summer 2026 at 5036 W. Chicago Ave. Credit: Gregory Ram\u00f3n Design Studio, Inc.<\/p>\n

Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AUSTIN \u2014 A health and wellness facility under construction in Austin aims to provide high-quality medical care for…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":388592,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[1322,210,1141,1142,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-388591","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-care","8":"tag-featured","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-health-care","11":"tag-healthcare","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-unitedstates","14":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115573202425746230","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=388591"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/388591\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/388592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=388591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=388591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=388591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}