UMOM New Day Centers and CVS Health celebrated the grand opening of a new affordable housing development called Newsom Village. The new 60-unit development is named after Darlene Newsom, the previous UMOM Day Centers CEO. As part of the event, CVS Health offered its no-cost preventive health screening program, Project Health, to residents.
The new, 60-unit Newsom Village development is located at 4020 South 9th Street in south Phoenix. Data compiled from the Arizona Health Services indicate that approximately 79% of south Phoenix area residents identify as Black or Latino. Additionally, according to the Phoenix Housing Plan , more than 50% of south and west Phoenix area households pay greater than 30% of their income on housing costs. In comparison, less than 29% of households were housing cost-burdened in north Phoenix.
Newsom Village offers two- and three-bedroom apartments at a reduced rent to families earning at or below 60% of the Area’s Median Income. It was named after Darlene Newsom to honor her mark on Maricopa County and her commitment to ensuring families, single women and youth experiencing homelessness have equal access to safe, affordable housing and supportive services in south Phoenix. At the helm as the Chief Executive Officer at UMOM New Day Centers since 2002, she completed a $24 million capital campaign to relocate the existing family shelter, established close to 900 affordable housing units and developed its first full-service shelter for homeless women in Maricopa County.
“We are proud to partner with CVS Health to open our 10th Affordable Housing Community, Newsom Village,” said Jackson Fonder, CEO of UMOM New Day Centers. “We are also delighted to honor our previous CEO, Darlene Newsom, and have the opportunity to work alongside so many key stakeholders to make this project happen.”
CVS Health invested $12.1 million into the project with Raymond James Affordable Housing Investments and expanded its no-cost preventive health screenings, Project Health in Phoenix, as part of its continued commitment to advancing health equity and addressing social determinants of health at the local level. Project Health, which has historically offered screenings at CVS Pharmacy locations in select cities, expanded to the Phoenix area with a mobile RV, which brings these preventive screenings to communities across Phoenix. Project Health offers free biometric screenings to help identify chronic conditions before they become life-threatening illnesses in addition to osteoporosis bone density, mini-cognitive and mild-depressing screening, a $175 consumer value. Project Health events are held in areas of Phoenix with higher populations of uninsured and underinsured people, including at locations where UMOM is currently serving families and single women experiencing homelessness.
“Equitable access to stable and supportive housing serves as one of the greatest barriers to better health for many people,” said Joel Helle, Vice President, Physician Services at CVS Health. “With the grand opening of Newsom Village, we’re helping to relieve the burden of housing instability that many south Phoenix residents face.”