About Our Organization

Equal Hope was started in 2008 after data emerged that revealed Black Women in Chicago diagnosed with breast cancer were 62% more likely to die from the disease than comparable White Women.  At the time, Chicago was one of the worst cities in the country when it came to racial health disparities related to breast cancer. 

At the same time, New York City had low breast cancer mortality rates suggesting that Chicago’s disparity was driven by structural racism rather than biology.  Startled by this inequity, the community came together and launched the Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force, which was renamed to Equal Hope in 2019.  Equal Hope developed a unique model to analyze Chicago’s breast health system and how it was failing Black women.  With that information, we developed an evidence-based, multi-pronged approach to address this disparity.  Our approach involved improving the quality of breast care, advocacy for system change and navigation to help uninsured and underinsured women overcome the systemic barriers to better health outcomes.  In 2017, Equal Hope published a paper showing that the disparity in survivorship had been reduced from 62% to 32%.  Chicago is now #1 in the country in lowering the breast cancer death rate for Black women. 

Based on its success with breast cancer, Equal Hope has expanded to address other women’s health inequities. Equal Hope’s mission is to save women’s lives by eliminating health disparities in Illinois, originally through the lens of breast cancer and now expanding to cervical cancer and helping those without a regular source of primary care get one.  We address women’s health holistically with the goal of eliminating inequities in prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment and survivorship for all women.

Mission Statement

Equal Hope’s mission is to save lives by eliminating health inequities. 

We do so by challenging the status quo--striving to understand the context of people’s lives and the barriers they experience, so  we can help them achieve their best health and a longer life.

Through research, quality assessment & improvements, advocacy, education and patient navigation, we approach health holistically to achieve sustainable outcomes and true health equity.

Our fight is on three fronts: