What Makes Us Different?
The strengths of the South Side Chicago Community Resource Mapping System are fourfold:
1. Real time information!
➢ Our goal is that every time you get online and check out southsidehealth.org, the Resource Mapping System will be up-to-date. We are actively seeking funding in order to keep the information continually up-to-date so that the location and contact information for establishments is as close to 100% accurate as we can get it.
➢ Most other mapping projects are not kept regularly up-to-date.
• Do you see a Mistake?
➢ We want to know if you see problems! This is a collaborative effort. If we all work together to keep the information up-to-date and accurate, then the information will be useful to all of us!
• If you see a mistake in the information we have listed, please click here.
2. Comprehensive!
ALL non-residential establishments and many residential businesses are represented on this website for all six communities. When we expand to additional communities, we will always do a comprehensive census of establishments. That means you can get location and contact information for all sorts of places—grocery stores, health clinics, community youth centers, for example. Eventually, we will add information about the services they offer. We hope this will become a site you can count on to get ALL the information you need about community resources.
3. Community-university partnership!
This project is being carried out in partnership by community members and university researchers working together to create and sustain important new knowledge that can help expedite advancements in the health of our communities.
This project is not happening in isolation. It is one key part of a major, unprecedented effort called the Urban Health Initiative. This involves building a system of health care that is informed by ongoing research about the health of communities and individuals who live here. Information from the Resource Mapping System is critical for building a health care system that works and can help organizations determine where needs are being met and where gaps exist. Together, we aim for the South Side of Chicago to become the healthiest urban area in the world.
4. Replicable!
We are willing to share the strategies we’ve used to build the Resource map.
