Public officials, partners, funders and nearly 200 others attended the Sankofa Wellness Center groundbreaking Sept. 16 in West Garfield Park.
The Sankofa Wellness Center at 4305 W. Madison St. is the first part of the larger Sankofa Wellness Village. Its construction aims to improve the health of Garfield Park residents, who on average live 13 years less than those in Chicago’s Loop five miles east, according to officials.
“Garfield Park is a beacon of light and resiliency, despite having the lowest life expectancy in the region,” said Ayesha Jaco, executive director of hospital collaborative West Side United. “We believe that Garfield Park, and the entire region, has the right to inherit communities that will increase healthcare access, jobs and career pathways that generate wealth, small business capital and support that lead to stronger and new businesses like Fillmore Linen.”
Expected to be completed by the fall of 2025, the Sankofa Wellness Center — in addition to providing a health center with primary medical, behavioral, dental and reproductive care — will house a gym, credit union, programs for childhood development and health education, mental health services and training for health care workers.
“This investment along the Madison corridor is long overdue,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said at the groundbreaking. “This area once thrived with businesses and activity, and today’s groundbreaking is just the beginning of a larger revitalization.”
Other public officials attended the groundbreaking, along with Sankofa Wellness Center’s partners Erie Family Health Centers, Rush University System for Health, and the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago. Many of those who spoke praised the community effort that it took to get the Sankofa Wellness Village off the ground.
“This center is a powerful symbol of what community-led projects can achieve when we bring together all of our partners,” Johnson said.
“To have this big collaboration of public, private, nonprofits, community-led — the vision that’s being implemented here just shows how powerful we are and how much we need each other,” said State Senator Lakeisa Collins.
The Sankofa Wellness Center was largely funded by the Pritzker Traubert Foundation, which gave $10 million to the wellness center’s ownership team: the West Garfield Park Rite to Wellness Collaborative, which includes several West Side groups, plus the Community Builders and MAAFA Redemption Project.
At the groundbreaking, Johnson said the City of Chicago is investing over $7 million in the Sankofa Wellness Village.
The 50,000-square-foot Sankofa Wellness Village will be more than just the Sankofa Wellness Center. It also aims to address the root causes of the health disparity in Garfield Park by including recreation services, financial and business support, plus access to the arts and healthy food.
About $8 million of the Pritzker Traubert Foundation’s donation will go toward the Sankofa Wellness Center. The rest will fund other portions of a larger Sankofa Wellness Village. These include the MAAFA Center for Arts and Activism — a spot for workforce development and arts inside a renovated New Mount Missionary Baptist Church — a business incubator, and the Community Grocer Initiative, which is a series of pop-up markets.
“Today is the beginning of the realization of a long-held dream and vision for this community,” said Illinois Senate President Don Harmon. “A community with better health outcomes when people are able to easily access care, exercise, and to purchase healthy food. A community with a vibrant art scene, creating performance opportunities for residents and drawing visitors from other neighborhoods. A community that trains up young leaders, preparing them for successful careers.”
“West Garfield Park is an amazing community,” said Ald. Jason Ervin of the 28th Ward, which covers most of Garfield Park. “While it has not had the resources that others have had, our time is now.”
“West Garfield Park is on the move,” Ald. Ervin added. “West Garfield Park will continue to rise.”
