by On Monday, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced $5 million in grants aimed at closing the differences in life expectancy in the city’s neighborhoods.
The awards will support economic stability in Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan, the communities with the highest health inequalities, through four collaborations with a total of 12 groups.
We want all Bostonians and their families to live long, healthy lives. In a statement announcing the grants, Wu stated, “That’s why we’re investing in systemic change and in resources to strengthen families and individuals.”
The grant program is a component of the Live Long and Well agenda of the Boston Public Health Commission, which was initiated in 2024 with the goal of reducing the disparities in life expectancy by 2035.
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New study shows massive disparities in life expectancy among Boston neighborhoods
This comes two years after a 2023 BPHC study revealed that residents in the Back Bay had the longest life expectancy in the city, at 92 years, while residents of Roxbury, which is only two miles away, had the lowest life expectancy, at 69 years.
According to Boston’s commissioner of public health, Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, the average life expectancy for Black Bostonians is seven years lower, and for Black men in particular, it is ten years lower.
We think that a person’s color, ethnicity, or zip code shouldn’t affect how long they live. On Monday, Ojikutus participated in the grant recipient announcement meeting in Dorchester.
Wu stated during Monday’s meeting that “we know that empowering all of our residents to live long, healthy lives takes more than just investing in health care.” It entails making investments in the things that contribute to people’s health: housing, access to wholesome food, and economic mobility, all of which are particularly crucial in light of Medicaid’s recent federal funding cuts, she added.
The three main causes of premature death in Boston—cancer, accidental drug overdoses, and cardiometabolic diseases, which include heart disease, diabetes, and related conditions—are the focus of the Live Long and Well agenda.
The $10 million contribution made to the project by the Atrius Health Equity Foundation funds the grants, with a second batch anticipated in 2028.
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