United Way will bring health, education resources to 76104 after Star-Telegram series
Earlier this year, leaders at the United Way of Tarrant County began to talk about an ambitious project that would help an area of Fort Worth in need. They imagined something similar to the Las Vegas Trail Revitalization Project, which works to increase safety, education, quality housing, employment and physical and mental health for the residents in that area.
As they began to talk about a plan, the group’s president and chief executive officer, Leah King, said they didn’t know which neighborhood to tackle next. And then, King read the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s “Life & Death in 76104” series that was published in September.
“Those neighborhoods are now a target area because of those stories,” she said last week.
The series chronicled life in three neighborhoods south of downtown Fort Worth — Historic Southside, Morningside and Hillside. The series was sparked by a 2019 UT Southwestern study that found residents of the 76104 ZIP code have the lowest life expectancy rate in the state.
On average, people who live in the 76104 ZIP code won’t live to see their 67th birthday and will die 12 years younger than the national average, according to the study. Women in 76104 live on average to be 70 while men live to be 63.7.
Heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death there, and the majority of early deaths were east of Interstate 35W, according to deaths the Star-Telegram analyzed that were investigated by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner.
The irony of the story of 76104 is that the ZIP code takes in the city’s medical district, which includes five hospitals and hundreds of medical offices. Yet residents described a lack of access to health care driven by a lack of transportation, insurance and awareness of programs available to help.
The area is also a food desert, meaning it lacks affordable healthy foods within a convenient distance.
The United Way of Tarrant County will start by asking residents what resources they need the most. The group will partner with city leaders, hospitals and nonprofits that already operate in Tarrant County to address accessibility to health care, healthy foods, quality childcare, and education and job training in the three 76104 neighborhoods.
King and her team have talked with city leaders, hospital system representatives and other stakeholders. Within the first few months of 2021, those conversations will extend to residents.
Brian Dixon, president of the Historic Southside Neighborhood Association, looks forward to those conversations.
“I think, especially since within the ZIP code there are different neighborhoods, having the neighborhoods themselves evaluate their own needs is key,” he said. “Some areas are lacking resources more than others and our needs in Historic Southside might be different than other areas.”
He’s excited that the United Way wants to do more and hopes this will spark other groups to join their efforts.
“We are all feeling the effects of a not so great diet and economic inequality and inter-generational trauma and stress, so anything we can do now to start addressing is a good idea,” he said.
King said the program will be similar to the one in the Las Vegas Trail area, which was also started because of a Star-Telegram investigative series that was published in 2017.
Residents there told the United Way they wanted a community center. So, the Las Vegas Trail Revitalization Project uses a Mobile Community Center to offer services to residents including financial coaching, career development, counseling and educational classes. Residents in Como now have a permanent community center.
The project is spearheaded by Fort Worth City Councilman Brian Byrd and the United Way of Tarrant County. It also includes members of Catholic Charities, Texas Health Harris Hospital and the Fort Worth school district and Fort Worth police department.
This story was originally published December 4, 2020 at 5:45 AM.
