In a region long plagued by environmental injustice, the Multicultural Wellness Network (MWN) is launching a sweeping new campaign to tackle the hidden but deadly toll of asthma and allergy-related illness in Lake County’s Black and underserved communities. Armed with a $100,000 grant from the Indiana State Department of Health, MWN’s initiative is more than a health education campaign—it is a rallying call for awareness, empowerment, and environmental justice.
Officially kicking off on June 20, 2025, during an invite-only luncheon for community partners, the campaign arrives not a moment too soon. According to the Indiana Department of Health, Lake County ranks among the state’s highest in asthma-related emergency department visits. Statewide, approximately 730,000 Hoosiers live with asthma. In Lake County, that burden is unequally distributed, with Black residents hospitalized at rates nearly three times higher than white residents.
“These are not just statistics. These are our families, our children, our elders,” said Sheila George, executive director of MWN. “Asthma is deeply personal, and it is deeply racial. When you live near steel mills, freight yards, and aging homes with mold or dust, you don’t just inherit bad air—you inherit a health risk that stays with you for life.”
George’s words are grounded in science and lived experience. Gary, Indiana, has long been a hub of heavy industry. While that legacy fueled economic growth decades ago, it has also left behind a dangerous residue. A 2023 report by the American Lung Association gave Lake County an “F” for ozone pollution. Fine particulate matter, or PM2.5—tiny pollutants that lodge deep in the lungs—regularly exceeds safe levels in urban neighborhoods near Gary Works and U.S. Steel facilities.
A recent ProPublica analysis of EPA air toxics data identified East Chicago and Gary as “hot spots” where residents face higher lifetime cancer risks from industrial emissions. For Black families already struggling with housing insecurity, food deserts, and limited healthcare access, asthma becomes yet another form of systemic oppression.
This is the backdrop for MWN’s Asthma and Allergy Awareness Campaign. The campaign takes a comprehensive approach grounded in national best practices. MWN will deploy resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) EXHALE initiative and the American Lung Association’s “Breathe Well, Live Well” curriculum. The goal is not only to reduce triggers like mold, dust, and pests—but to equip families with tools to manage asthma proactively.
“The $100,000 grant allows us to fund community health worker training, provide home assessments, and deliver self-management education that’s culturally relevant,” said George. “It’s about empowering families to take back control of their health.”
MWN also plans to build a broad-based coalition of schools, youth programs, health care providers, and environmental justice advocates. These partnerships will play a critical role in reducing childhood exposure to asthma triggers—whether it’s improving ventilation in classrooms or educating caregivers about proper medication use.
“Collaborating with schools and community organizations is pivotal,” George said. “Asthma-safe spaces should not be a privilege—they should be a right.”
To that end, MWN will help implement asthma management plans in schools and train educators to recognize signs of respiratory distress. In Lake County, where high asthma rates lead to missed school days and costly ER visits, such measures could be transformative. Nationally, Black children are nearly five times more likely than white children to be admitted to the hospital for asthma, according to the CDC.
But MWN’s campaign is not just about education—it’s about advocacy.
“Too often, policy is written without our voices in the room,” George said. “We are demanding better housing codes, stronger environmental protections, and equitable health care access. Our communities cannot afford to wait.”
Founded over 15 years ago, the Multicultural Wellness Network has built a trusted reputation in Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland. Its programs have tackled chronic diseases ranging from hypertension and diabetes to lupus and sarcoidosis. With this latest campaign, MWN is drawing a direct line between structural racism and respiratory health outcomes.
Research supports that link. A 2022 study in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology found that Black Americans are exposed to 21% more fine particulate matter than the national average, while white Americans are exposed to 17% less. The same study emphasized that race—not income—is the strongest predictor of exposure to air pollution in the United States.
George made clear that MWN is a nonpartisan, community-based advocate. “We do not carry political affiliations,” she said. “We carry the stories of our people and a commitment to justice.”
As the campaign prepares to launch, MWN is calling on residents, pastors, teachers, and block club leaders to get involved.
“We can’t fix what we won’t face,” George said. “Asthma is not just a medical issue—it is a justice issue. And justice starts when we organize, educate, and advocate together.”
For more information on how to get involved with MWN’s campaign or to schedule a home asthma trigger assessment, visit www.mwnmottep.org or call 219-985-9504.