Harlem Kids Face Most Well-Being Risks In Manhattan: Study

HARLEM, NY — Children who are born and raised in Central and East Harlem face greater obstacles to living a healthy life compared to all other Manhattan neighborhoods, according to a study released this month by the Citizens' Committee for Children.

Both Harlem areas were included the six New York City neighborhoods to be labeled "moderate high risk" by the Citizens' Committee for Children's annual study on the risks to childhood well-being in each of the city's neighborhoods. East Harlem was ranked the 12th "riskiest" neighborhood and Central Harlem the 13th riskiest out of the 59 studied by the nonprofit dedicated to child advocacy.

Central and East Harlem were the only Manhattan neighborhoods included in either the moderate high risk or highest risk categories, which were largely dominated by the Bronx.

The study — which analyzes kids' obstacles to being healthy, housed, educated, safe and economically self-sufficient — is meant to reveal where resources should be pooled to help children in need, researchers said.

To calculate risk, the Citizens' Committee for Children analyzes 18 different "indicators" of well-being at the community level. Some of these indicators include a neighborhood's childhood poverty rate, rental overcrowding, the number of children in homeless shelters, infant mortality rates, high school graduation rates and youth unemployment. Neighborhoods are then sorted into the following categories: Highest risk, moderate high risk, moderate risk, moderate low risk and lowest risk.

"This does not mean one community is inherently better or worse, or that these obstacles cannot be overcome," the report reads. "However, the 18 indicators on their own and together as an index help identify where such factors cluster, enabling individuals, organizations, and government to take informed action through program development, budget decisions, and legislation to address social determinants of health and to reduce the likelihood of adverse childhood experiences."

The main challenges to children in the East and Central Harlem neighborhoods were economic security and health, according to the study. The report found that East Harlem is the third riskiest neighborhood for economic security with a 46.5% childhood poverty rate and a median family income of $32,803. Central Harlem was the sixth riskiest neighborhood for health outcomes. The neighborhood has an infant mortality rate of 6.5 per 1,000 births, one of the worst in the city.

Check out the full Citizens' Committee for Children study here.