Friends and Colleagues –

Over the past few weeks, so many of you have collaborated with us to innovate for health justice. We are grateful for the things we have learned, the connections we have built, and the plans we have made for the future. Our gatherings have focused on many aspects of public health, including the following:

• School and community providers strategizing around how to collectively support the health and well-being of Chicago students and families experiencing housing instability, 
• Public health professionals, healthcare providers, social service professionals, and people directly impacted by incarceration addressing the needs of justice-involved individuals, particularly those living with or at risk for HIV, and
• Youth providers engaging in dialogue about what may or may not work to prevent substance use by young people.

I am proud of the work that PHIMC staff does every day, and am thankful for the chance to share it with you. As you read on, I trust you will find something in our newsletter that captures your interest. It could be Second Chance Month in April or Mental Health Awareness Month in May, our recent or upcoming gatherings, trainings, or job opportunities, a brief resource that breaks down stigma, or a warm welcome to our newest member of Team PHIMC.

Celebrating our 30th anniversary has created conversations among staff and board about what will come next and how we will grow our work, engage new communities, and respond to known and unknown public health crises in a way that promotes both health and health justice. Everyone has lots of thoughts on this, but one thing we all know is that we cannot do our work without your support.

This newsletter is full of ways to get involved in our programs, but I would be a terrible CEO if I didn’t take the opportunity to invite you to support us as a donor or as a new board member. I hope you will consider one or both of these opportunities to strengthen PHIMC and support our work to advance health justice and strengthen public health through innovation and partnerships that align people, strategies, and resources.

Do you have questions or feedback? Please share. If you reach out to info@phimc.org, someone on our team will respond.

Thank you, as always, for your support and partnership.

Powered by PHIMC and Healthy Schools Campaign, the School Health Access Collaborative (SHAC) brings together education and health stakeholders to identify ways to enhance student access to comprehensive, coordinated, and sustainable healthcare, improve the health service delivery model for Chicago students, and elevate equity and well-being. SHAC leverages the knowledge and expertise of its members to envision a school health system that provides all students with the health and wellness services they need. 

In March, SHAC hosted a panel of experts to discuss supporting the health and well-being of newcomer and housing-unstable students and families and invited Dr. Olusimbo “Simbo” Ige, the new Commissioner for the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH), to speak on CDPH’s priorities. Our panel speakers were:

• Alyssa Phillips, Education Attorney, Chicago Coalition for the Homeless
• Orlando Rivero, Program Manager of Primary Care Services, Chicago Public Schools
• Marcellus Summers, Citywide Coordinator of Students in Temporary Living Situations, Chicago Public Schools
• Salvador Cerna, Director of Community Impact and Special Projects, La Casa Norte

This conversation is timely and critical as Chicago welcomes an influx of migrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking students and their families. In the last two years, approximately 35,000 newcomers have arrived in Chicago and more than 5,700 newcomer students have enrolled in CPS, according to NBC News. The U.S. Department of Education uses the term newcomers to refer to "any foreign-born students and their families who have recently arrived in the United States,” according to their Newcomer Tool Kit which goes on to say, “Throughout our country’s history, people from around the world have immigrated to the United States to start a new life, bringing their customs, religions, and languages with them. The United States is, to a great extent, a nation of immigrants. Newcomers play an important role in weaving our nation’s social and economic fabric, and U.S. schools play an important role in helping newcomers adapt and contribute as they integrate into American society.”

Incorporating migrant students and their families into school communities takes not only time, but a broad range of resources that include but are not limited to additional funding, translation services, additional teachers, mental health services, and health care. Chicago not only needs expanded funding to ensure the stability of needed services, it also needs to ensure that they are delivered equitably so that students with the most need have access to the most care.

Panelists shared their perspectives and insights on challenges and barriers experienced by families and youth, including navigating complex social service systems and dealing with trauma and its impact on education and learning. “We are in unprecedented waters so to speak right now of what our end-of-year numbers are going to be, so of course that puts a strain on the school, on CPS, finances, resources, things of that nature,” said Marcellus Summers. 

Dr. Ige’s remarks to SHAC focused on compassion and how the city can come together collaboratively to work to resolve complicated living situations for students. As she told the Chicago Defender in February, “My job is to advocate very strongly for the communities that have been at the margins so that they can be put in the center.”   

SHAC members are committed to continuing this conversation and improving the lives of students who face these challenges. 

To learn more about SHAC, please contact Liz Wilson, visit our website, or check out our calendar of upcoming SHAC meetings.

2024 Illinois Reentry Conference

Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago’s Community Reentry Project hosted its free annual Illinois Reentry Conference: Advancing Criminal, Health, and Social Justice on Thursday, March 14, 2024. Now in its eighth year, the conference is designed to rediscover, reimagine, and rebuild best practices in criminal, health, and social justice. 

This year’s conference brought together people who have experienced the criminal justice system from all walks of life, including justice-involved individuals, public health professionals, healthcare providers, social service professionals, and members of the community to build skills around health equity, social justice, and reentry services for current and formerly incarcerated individuals in Illinois. The conference featured presentations by top leaders in public health and corrections, virtual breakout rooms, the presentation of our Community Reentry Champion Awards, music expression, and more.

Congratulations to our 2024 Community Reentry Champion Awardees, Gregory Chambers, Director of Policy for Illinois Coalition to End Permanent Punishments, and Nicholas Malaki Crayton, Career Readiness and Reentry Manager for Defy Ventures!

Gregory Chambers shared the words of Coretta Scott King as he accepted the award: “The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members."

Nicholas Malaki Crayton reminded us: “If we are to really live, then we must sincerely help those within our scope of reach. Be more compassionate today than you were yesterday.”

If you were unable to attend, you can view all of the main stage presentations and artistic expressions on our YouTube channel. We also have a playlist of main stage presentations from past virtual Illinois Reentry Conferences that you can view here.

Corrections Discharge Planning Training Centers Cultural Humility

PHIMC’s Corrections Discharge Planning Training supports discharge providers and planning staff who work in correctional facilities, healthcare settings, and within communities to better serve people living with and who are at the highest risk for HIV transition during and after incarceration. 

As part of our regular assessment and improvement efforts, the PHIMC reentry team recently added cultural humility as an element of the Corrections Discharge planning training, creating space for attendees' self-exploration and self-critique, offering an opportunity to learn from others, and inviting training participants to be intentional about honoring others' beliefs, customs, and values. We believe that intentional cultural humility fosters an inclusive and human-centered approach to reentry services, which acknowledges the diverse backgrounds, experiences, and identities of individuals returning to society after incarceration. Cultural humility also offers opportunities for ongoing learning to the community of professionals supporting individuals returning to society after incarceration. 

We aim to shift the status quo of viewing justice-impacted individuals as detainee numbers, clients, and/or participants and instead humanize and respect each individual’s diversity, background, and unique experiences. Centering cultural humility in Reentry services provides the opportunity to challenge stereotypes and biases that may exist within reentry systems, and promote empathy, understanding, and acceptance of differences. Centering the perspectives, experiences, and identities of individuals returning from incarceration allows the community of Reentry professionals a foundation to build supportive relationships that ultimately promote effective reintegration services.

To learn more, please contact Brittany Spralls.

Attention Chicago Youth Providers:

PHIMC is excited to lead the Chicago region of Illinois’ new Regional Substance Use Prevention Integration Centers (RSUPICs) program that educates youth, parents, friends, and the community-at-large about substance use prevention and misuse. PHIMC is committed to collaborating with other youth-serving organizations to integrate programs and services that support the well-being of young people in our community. By working together, we can create a network of support that empowers youth to make positive choices and lead healthy, drug-free lives.

On March 29, PHIMC gathered community partners to lay out and discuss our Theory of Change for this work. UCAN Chicago graciously provided their space to hold the meeting, where we gained feedback and insight from different youth-serving agencies on substance use prevention for youth in Chicago. The information shared by these partners has already given us a greater understanding of how to support agencies with youth substance use prevention, integrate with community organizations, and provide resources that serve community partners. 

PHIMC would like to thank all the organizations who came in support of this new program, UCAN Chicago, Lutheran Social Services of Illinois, CPASS Foundation, Center on Halsted, Praxis, and Lurie Children’s Hospital’s Connect 4 Youth Program.  

To learn more, visit our RSUPIC-Chicago webpage or contact Lara Nidea.

National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week

March 18-24 was National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week, so we compiled a list of myths commonly associated with substance use and created social media graphics to dispel these myths. Examples follow.

Other resources to support health equity can be found on our website.

Please join us in welcoming the newest member of the PHIMC team.

Program Coordinator – HIV Prevention and Gender-Affirming Care

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Outreach and Prevention Specialist – Regional Substance Use Prevention Integration Centers (RSUPIC) Program

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Accounting Manager – Financial Reporting

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Join the Team

Learn more about PHIMC Employment Opportunities here.