Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Community Outreach & Engagement Center that opened in 2023 is growing. New York State Senator April N.M. Baskin and Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes today announced $3 million in State investment for a new wing at the complex. Senator Baskin allocated $2 million in the FY2025 State Budget and Majority Leader Peoples-Stokes committed $1 million in Assembly funding toward the project.
The funding will support the development of the HOPE (Health, Outreach and Prevention Excellence) Center, a new wing at 907 Michigan Ave. dedicated to advancing Roswell Park’s cancer prevention and early detection mission. Construction on the $4 million expansion is slated to begin this fall.
The current 5,900-square-foot Community Outreach & Engagement Center transformed and preserved a historic 1878 home in Buffalo’s Fruit Belt neighborhood, adding a modern wing with floor-to-ceiling glass and a window-lined corridor. The center houses services focused on advancing health equity and improving health outcomes across Western New York, including cancer awareness, educational programs, navigation to cancer screening, financial wellness programming and space for community gatherings.
Since opening its doors, the center has welcomed more than 16,000 community members and hosted over 800 events, of which approximately 500 were led directly by community partners. In one year alone, Roswell reported nearly 9,000 visitors, with 66 percent of visitors self-identifying as Black. More than 200 new community organizations have engaged with the center’s work in just two years.
This critical investment will expand access to life-saving cancer screening services in Buffalo’s historic Black Fruit Belt neighborhood, a community of deep cultural significance and home to many marginalized residents who face significant barriers to healthcare. The 907 Michigan location is a trusted resource for residents who may feel apprehensive about visiting Roswell’s main campus. This expansion will enable Roswell to further address health disparities and provide care to those most in need.
The HOPE Center will build on the success of the original space by centering new initiatives focused on mitigating the social determinants of health, including employment programming, healthcare career pathway programs, interventions to reduce housing instability among cancer patients, caregiver support connections, and expanded Spanish and foreign-language outreach.
“The expansion of 907 Michigan marks an important milestone in Roswell Park’s ongoing commitment to serve and uplift the neighborhoods we call home,” said Candace Johnson, PhD, President and CEO of Roswell Park. “We’re grateful to Senator April Baskin for championing this work and helping us bring more resources directly to the community.”
Roswell Park maintains one of the oldest and most active Community Outreach and Engagement teams in the nation, focused on reducing cancer’s disproportionately high burden on communities of color, Indigenous communities, and high-risk populations in rural, urban, and suburban areas.