Metro east healthcare provider opens 16 affordable housing units
Southern Illinois Healthcare Foundation publicly unveiled 16 one-bedroom housing units in Cahokia Heights on Wednesday, marking the completion of the first portion of its affordable housing development.
Dubbed “Vivian’s Village,” the $6.5 million facility will provide a safe and stable option in the lower-income Metro East community, according to leaders of the Sauget-based healthcare organization.
“I think this is something that’s needed in every community,” said SIHF Healthcare CEO Larry McCulley. “This is the way we bring health back to healthcare. This is where we bring dignity back to healthcare.”
McCulley, along with local and state leaders, sees the project as a new way to think about healthcare in the United States, providing more holistic services outside the typical hospital and clinical setting.
“The necessity of bringing food, the necessity of bringing housing into the healthcare realm, is what really is going to improve the health status of individuals — and ultimately lower the cost of healthcare across this country,” McCulley said.
In addition to the housing, Vivian’s Village includes a facility that will provide virtual and behavioral healthcare, along with food, to the residents. It also sits in what healthcare and city leaders believe is an ideal location: within walking distance to Touchette Regional Hospital, Cahokia Heights’ police department, and a Dollar General.
The 16 units, two of which are already occupied, will serve residents who earn 30% or less of the area’s median income via vouchers from the St. Clair County Housing Authority. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s latest figures, the household income would be $30,488.
Illinois’ Housing Development Authority largely financed the project, fronting $4.95 million, according to Evan Ponder, a senior policy and planning officer with the state agency.
“This milestone is what is possible when state and local agencies, service providers, and the healthcare industry work to improve quality of life for everyone in the community,” Ponder said.
Cahokia Heights Mayor Curtis McCall Sr. estimates Vivian’s Village will provide the first affordable housing units built in town in 30 years.
“This is a tremendous first step of many to come,” he said.
SIHF Healthcare plans to build an additional 36 family units as part of the organization’s second phase in Vivian’s Village. McCulley said he’s hoping to have all financing and documentation needed to begin construction on the family units in 90 to 120 days.
SIHF Healthcare named the new housing development after Vivian Cash, a longtime volunteer and advocate from Centreville who served as a commissioner for the St. Clair County Housing Authority.