Recently the Census Bureau released its annual statistics on poverty and inequality. Encouragingly, the proportion of people living in poverty in the Twin Cities dropped from 10.9 percent in 2010 — when the recession was declared over — to 10.3 percent in 2013. While this suggests we may be headed in the right direction, the margin of error makes the decrease pretty insignificant, if at all accurate. We're simply not making progress fast enough, and in this state, poverty can be lethal.

Despite the fact that Minnesota is, overall, regarded as one of the healthiest places to live within the United States, rural Minnesotans and communities of color across the Twin Cities — most notably low-income African-Americans, and Hmong, Hispanic/Latino and Somali immigrants — are more likely to suffer from chronic illness without proper access to health information, services and support, when compared with Minnesotans with higher incomes.

According to Wilder Research, in a study commissioned by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation, a person's ZIP code tells a lot about their relative chances for healthy outcomes and longevity. The research states that in the Twin Cities, there is an eight-year difference in average life expectancy between a child born and raised in a "wealthy" ZIP code and a child born and raised in a ZIP code where most of the residents experience poverty. Eight years is a lot of life to be sacrificed, simply because of circumstances that can be overcome.

Clearly, a person's health status in life is determined by a number of variables, including social and economic factors that need to work in synchronicity. However, our low-income neighbors are too often faced with the "chicken-and-egg" game: Proximity to preventive care, access to culturally sensitive treatment, and health education could all help improve health and well-being, but they are the group that can least afford — and has the poorest access to — basic health services.

To advance health equity, we all need to start thinking outside the traditional health care box on how and where to deliver health services. It is a moral imperative to bring resources and focus to this problem within low-income communities and communities of color. If we do not increase our efforts, our most vulnerable will continue to be at disproportionate risk of developing chronic diseases and of lacking proper health support.

Last month, Medtronic Philanthropy and the Greater Twin Cities United Way put a stake in the ground on this problem and will be working to bring culturally competent care to the door of the underserved, including racial and ethnic minority populations. Our two organizations are collaborating on a multiyear initiative to accelerate health equity and reduce barriers to health care through community engagement. We are leading an effort to recruit and train hundreds of community health workers from within these communities to educate their own neighbors and communities in health promotion and chronic disease management.

Community health workers are a front-line bridge to the health system. They act as advocates for their patients, serve as educators about how health screenings can spot chronic disease early — when it's more treatable — and become trusted counselors who can coach and empathize about needed lifestyle changes, such as shifting one's diet to one that offers more nutrition.

These community health workers will reflect the culture of those whom they serve, which will help them earn access and trust. With this bridge, we will be helping individuals and communities with the greatest needs to become active participants in solving the health equity challenges we confront on a daily basis. Whether at a local community center, a house of worship or a popular shop, these community health workers will intersect with the community wherever they may be.

While we think this is a great first step toward reducing disparities in health care, we believe it will take even more ideas and more resources to truly advance health equity in the Twin Cities, and we're aware that other organizations may also be examining this dilemma. We invite others to join the conversation and our efforts with their energy, ideas, research and resources to help find practical solutions for engaging chronic disease patients and those most affected by disparities in health status, systems and outcomes.

Together, we can add another page to our state's history of innovative solutions to complex problems. We can make Minnesota a place where all residents — regardless of their race, gender, age, country of origin, type of community or income level — have the same opportunity to be healthy and to contribute to our community.

Sarah Caruso is president and chief executive of Greater Twin Cities United Way. Jacob A. Gayle is vice president of Medtronic Philanthropy.