Grant Will Fund Health Impact Assessment on Boston’s Living Wage Ordinance - November 7, 2014

Boston Public Health Commission aims to bring issues of health into the discussion.

BOSTON -- For years research has shown a link between low income and health problems, yet economic and labor policy decisions rarely take health considerations into account. That may soon change thanks to a new project launching in Boston.

The Boston Public Health Commission announced today that it has received $100,000 for a demonstration project to conduct a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) of Boston's Living Wage Ordinance, and on proposals under consideration to expand it.

"Addressing the wage and income gap in Boston is a top priority for my administration. This project is an exciting opportunity to engage stakeholders on the important issue of wage equity, and to quantify the health impacts of enacting changes to Boston's fair wage laws," said Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, who was recently named vice chair of a U.S. Conference of Mayors task force on income inequality.

The grant funding was awarded by the Health Impact Project, a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts, with additional funding from the de Beaumont Foundation. The Commission's application was selected out of more than 200 that were submitted and is one of only 14 to be funded nationally.

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