In the city of Richmond, Virginia, moving 7 miles can subtract 20 years from you life.

While doing some research for a Virginia Commonwealth University Health system (VCUH), my partner and I discovered that there’s a neighborhood in the state’s capital with an average life expectancy of 83 years. A mere seven miles way, another neighborhood’s average life expectancy is 63.

As the state’s safety-net health system and a fierce champion of meeting the social determinants of health head-on, VCUH surely would want to launch a public awareness campaign centered on this tragic, unacceptable fact and how they might begin to solve it. We proposed it. They were moved. Unfortunately, they weren’t moved enough to buy it.

Note: at the time, the system was running it’s Uncommon brand campaign. Thus the UNs.