Chicago Homelessness and Health Response Group for Equity

URGENT!! Help us provide health care and hygiene supplies to the 15k migrants in Chicago living on the streets, police stations, & makeshift shelters! Thank you and please spread the word about this list!

Volunteer Chicago health care providers & students go out multiple times per week. Amazon Wish List: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/26WP21I257EC1?ref_=wl_share

The United States is experiencing the most significant substance use and overdose epidemic it has ever faced, exacerbated by a worldwide pandemic and driven by a synthetic op**te (fentanyl) which is 100x more potent than morphine. 
 
In 2021, more than 100,000 people died of a drug overdose. In Cook County alone, there was an estimated 2,100 opioid overdose deaths in 2021. It’s clear that the opioid crisis has reached a boiling point. Yet, people struggling with addiction continue to be blamed for their disease. The public and the justice system continue to view addiction as a result of moral weakness and flawed character. Medical institutions embody much of this publicly held stigma around people who use drugs, leading to shame and mistrust of a system that should be using evidence-based practices to help people overcome their disease.
 
As a country, we need to rethink the way we care for people struggling with addiction. The current, largely punitive, system has proven ineffective. So how can we reform it to promote hope and healing rather than shame?
 
Clean needle exchange programs have been shown to significantly reduce the spread of infectious disease associated with IV drug use like HIV and HepC. Other harm reduction services include education and access to Naloxone (an opioid antagonist used to reverse overdose), safe smoking kits, fentanyl testing strips, referrals to treatment and healthcare services and safe s*x supplies. These services increase knowledge around safer substance use, increase access to support services and minimize the harms of drug use - all while acknowledging that many individuals coping with addiction may not be in a position to remain abstinent.   
 
If we want to overcome preventable overdose deaths, support for harm reduction services in the abstract is not enough. These services have existed for many years and their successful results have been well documented. Yet for some reason, harm reduction continues to exist outside the scope of the medical community. It’s imperative that we increase awareness, acceptance and financial support for these services, both in medicine and in our community as a whole.

Today, the Bring Chicago Home coalition hosted a townhall to generate support for a  proposed restructuring of the Real Estate Transfer Tax (RETT) that would generate an estimated $159 million/year of dedicated revenue to address homelessness by increasing taxes on purchases of high-end properties over $1 million dollars. 

This call to action takes place in the backdrop of a growing housing crisis that leaves nearly 60,000 people in Chicago without a home. 

* Over 10,000 of these people are Chicago public school students. 
* 1 in 4 are children. 
* 4 in 5 are people of color.
* Many are veterans or victims of domestic abuse.

Throughout the night, there were testimonies from community partners, shelter directors and housing advocates that shed light on the massive shortage of affordable housing and the toll it takes on the social services that are tasked with navigating a broken and underfunded housing system. This proposed tax reform would not only bring more than 12,000 new households over the next 10 years, it would also increase funding for social services (i.e. mental health services) to make sure people have the support they need to remain housed and get connected to vital resources like health care and job training. 

Later in the evening, the town hall asked Alderman Jason Ervin if he would commit to sponsor dedicated funding for homeless services. Ervin responded by saying that he would not support this reform and gave no clear follow-up as to why. 

Housing is a human right, and access to safe and affordable housing not only has the potential to improve the health and well-being of an individual, it also improves the health of our community as a whole. Public transportation, emergency rooms - these are public resources that we share as a community. And the burden of violence, not feeling safe on public transportation, and lack of hospital beds is shouldered by all of us, whether we have a home or not. Thus, by taking care of each other, we also take care of ourselves. 

You can support Bring Chicago Home and learn more about these issues by texting “BCH” to 313131.

USPS is distributing 4 free Covid-19 antigen tests per residential address! They will start shipping at the end of January.

Hopefully USPS or can also send more rapid antigen tests to homeless shelters and similar facilities because many individuals who do not have a home use a nearby shelter as their address and send mail there.

Sign up for antigen tests at this link: https://special.usps.com/testkits

💉 Boosters are the best way to protect yourself against COVID-19!! Thank you for making these! Muchas Gracias

Yesterday for we reached 1/3 of our goal of $1000 to purchase winter supplies for individuals experiencing homelessness in Chicago. Help us reach our goal to purchase 🧦 🧥 ⛺️ 🧤 before it gets Freezing 🥶 in Chicago! - tele

All Chicago Shelters are still at 50% of normal capacity because of COVID social distancing of beds. Plus more individuals are on the street from the aftermaths of the pandemic.

Contact [email protected] to find nearest donation location or donate $$$ at https://gofund.me/aec11eb1

🧥 Support CHHRGE this 🧦

Inter-professional health care student volunteers have been ☎️ calling organizations to get sleeping bags, coats, socks, and underwear donated to hand out to individuals in Chicago experiencing homelessness.

Contact [email protected] to ask for nearest donation location or donate $$$ to purchase 🧥 🧦 ⛺️ at https://gofund.me/8c504198

Sign up to call ☎️ places to donate tents, sleeping bags, and warm clothing at this link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1QPrG2SRr65QskcwuqL56mVR-8gl8uyAMFKer6X_k5TA/edit?usp=sharing

Donate $$$ to CHHRGE’s GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/78c8b753 100% of proceeds go back to purchasing warm supplies for the Chicago Homeless

Donate the above items and email [email protected] for nearest drop off location

Donations will be going to individuals experiencing homelessness in the 77 homeless shelters & on the streets

🚨 accepting: large/xl men’s sweatshirts and joggers

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Here are some Details about our Thanksgiving Meal plan this year.

We’re also looking for help with Vans/Busses to help transport our Neighbors experiencing Homelessness to and from Haas Park.

We would also love to find some folks that would like to bake some Pies so we can also provide a desert.

Looking forward to working together with the Haas Park Advisory Council!

Join us TODAY at 11am to Protest Recent Aldi Store Closure Amid Pandemic closure on West Side of Chicago

When: Thursday at 11 am
Where: Aldi headquarters at California and Granville

Community leaders and west side residents are demanding an explanation as to why Aldi pulled out of the West Garfield neighborhood, considering that the area is already a food desert.

The West Garfield Park community is holding a rally at the company’s Chicago corporate headquarters on Thursday morning to hold Aldi’s top brass accountable for abandoning the community at the worst time.

Not only is West Garfield a food desert, with little access to fresh and healthy foods, Aldi’s modest prices offered the economically strapped residents affordable relief, but now, Aldi isn’t an option for families anymore.

The community is demanding answers, especially amid a seemingly endless blistering pandemic and a rise of inflation for goods and services. This closure not only expands families’ hunger issues, but now impacts their wallets too.

Two-hour virtual Listening Sessions will occur Wednesday, November 10 from 11-1pm CT
and January 2022

Participants will receive a $30 stipend paid for by I PROMOTE-IL

Sessions will be recorded, but no names or identifying information shared during the
session will be used in official reports. Your participation will not affect any current or future
housing benefits.

If you or anyone you know is interested please scan the QR code or click this link:
https://uic.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2n4pZoN2luOHVga
I PROMOTE-IL
MATERNAL

Questions? Contact: Mickie Brown at [email protected]

Donations for care packages are needed before Nov 2nd so health profession student volunteers will be able to package and distribute to individuals living in shelters and on Chicago’s streets.