CLEVELAND — One local hospital is taking care beyond their walls and into the community.
Through its Institute for H.O.P.E, MetroHealth is bringing change to local neighborhoods by addressing day-to-day needs, including housing, food and education. Apart from their strategy, involve their new Opportunity Center at Via Sana, which sits right in the heart of the Clark Fulton Neighborhood, where there's a large Hispanic community.
Rosa Cruz is a Spanish teacher at Lincoln West School of Global Studies, and she considers it her mission to teach.
"I want to keep the language alive. That's why I invested in being a Spanish teacher," said Rosa.
But she knows teaching isn't meant for just the classroom.
"Latin dance studio is a group that we formed to teach children in our community about the culture itself," said Cruz, also the founder of Latin Dance Studio.
Rosa is Puerto Rican and grew up in the Clark Fulton neighborhood, where she was always able to stay connected to her Hispanic roots. So now she spends her days trying to foster the same environment for the next generation.
"Heritage means everything. It's what we're going to give our children, it's what they're going to remember, and it's what we have been taught," said Rosa.
What's helping her do that is MetroHealth's new Opportunity Center at Via Sana.
"This actual housing or apartment complex was MetroHealth's way of going beyond the four walls of a hospital system and investing in the community," said Marielee Santiago-Rodriguez, Director of Education and Training for the Institute for H.O.P.E.
The center is a part of MetroHealth's Institute for H.O.P.E., which aims to address the community's social determinants of health. This includes things like food, housing, transportation, education and jobs.
"As we know, 80% of someone's health outcomes is driven by social and economic factors that impact someone's health," said Rodriguez.
Within the center, they partner with different community-based organizations and groups to offer a list of things like Rosa's dance classes, art services, as well as economic and social resources.
"Specifically, within the Via Sana Opportunity Center, we're creating space for education and training," said Rodriguez.
Patty Esparza is a community health worker who works with Ventanilla De Salud. They use the space to educate and provide medical care to Hispanic immigrants.
"We have a workshop with a to talk about different topic for like diabetes, high blood pressure, etc," said Esparza.
The opportunity center has been running since June, and Rodriguez believes it's just one step in transforming neighborhoods like Clark Fulton's.
"We're looking at providing economic stability, providing opportunity for becoming a homeowner, providing adequate food access," Rodriguez continued. "So an individual's mental health and well-being, their physical health is addressed and they feel that they have control, autonomy and power and self-determination over their community, themselves and their families."
For Rosa, she's always been passionate about investing in her culture.
"If we don't teach our heritage, we're going to lose part of our identity. So having a space in our community, or many spaces, our community, that we could practice our heritage is very important," said Rosa.
Now she's inspired, knowing she's not doing it alone.
"I feel like finally, something and someone sees us as people and not just as numbers," said Rosa.
As of now, the center is not fully open to the public, but it will be open as of Oct. 29. Tri-C will also be offering classes there. They will also start in late October.
For more information on the Institute for H.O.P.E., click here.
