Omentha Smith-Crowe has been waiting for someone to invest in her neighborhood again.
The 96-year-old is an original builder in Historic Flanner House Homes, a celebrated community developed in the 1950s by African American families facing segregation and housing discrimination.
“No one should ever lose their home to a tax sale when the community works together. And a distance of two miles should not reduce your lifespan by 20 years.”
— Carlette Duffy
Today, residents struggle with health disparities as their homes fall into disrepair and gentrification drives up property taxes. Life expectancy on the near north side is two decades lower than the average in other parts of the city.
“It’s an honor to still be living in the house my husband built,” Smith-Crowe told Mirror Indy. “Since then, the attention has dwindled.”
But now that’s changing, thanks to a new nonprofit that will spend $500 million on the area.
On Oct. 21, Smith-Crowe watched from her wheelchair as city and business leaders announced the Indy Health District, a nonprofit serving five neighborhoods that is funded by institutions within them, including IU Health, the Children’s Museum, Ivy Tech Community College and Citizens Energy Group.
“We are here to make good on the data, requests and recommendations the community has shared with us for years,” said Jamal Smith, the executive director of the initiative. “It is our collective partnership that makes this different.”
The money will be spent on several goals: making neighborhoods more walkable; increasing education and economic opportunities; providing health care, housing and food access to all. The nonprofit has a dashboard to publicly track the impact of funding in these areas.
“It’s not just about affordability,” Smith said. “If nothing around me speaks to me, my family or my culture, then in essence you’ve displaced me anyway.”
The district stretches from the north end of downtown to Crown Hill Cemetery, encompassing the Crown Hill neighborhood, Highland Vicinity, Historic Flanner House Homes, Meridian Highland and Ransom Place. Leaders from each neighborhood association helped shape the project and will provide feedback at quarterly meetings.
“As a resident actively engaged in this community, it is my pleasure to receive tangible support,” said Danita Hoskin, president of the Crown Hill Neighborhood Association. She quoted Fred Rogers from the podium: “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood.”
The development comes as IU Health builds a new hospital downtown. CEO Dennis Murphy said the health district is part of the hospital chain’s plan to transform neighborhoods around its medical campus by shrinking health disparities.
“If we only build a great hospital,” Murphy said, ”we will have failed.”
Neighbors were ecstatic about the new resources coming to their communities — but also wary from past experiences.
“I know firsthand how damaging it can be when the systems meant to support us fall short,” said Carlette Duffy, a resident of Historic Flanner House Homes and the city’s chief financial officer. “For too long our communities have cried out for a seat at the table.”
In an interview with Mirror Indy, Duffy shared her experience with appraisal discrimination.
When the 50-year old Black woman made her home appear to be owned by a white family — removing photos of her family members and having a white man pose as her brother during the visit — an appraiser more than doubled its value.
She hopes the new health district will connect residents with financial resources and give them a direct line of communication with the institutions that are serving them.
“No one should ever lose their home to a tax sale when the community works together,” Duffy said. “And a distance of two miles should not reduce your lifespan by 20 years.”
Residents can attend the district’s first community gathering in November. Event information will be available soon on IndyHealthDistrict.org.
Mirror Indy reporter Mary Claire Molloy covers health. Reach her at 317-721-7648 or email maryclaire.molloy@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X @mcmolloy7.
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