In recent years, Haymarket Center’s mission of helping people recover from substance use disorder has led us to several expansions of our outreach efforts. The outreach program, which initially began at O’Hare airport, works with people experiencing homelessness and housing instability, connecting them to necessary resources and providing a safe place to recover from substance use disorder. Since its inception, this program has expanded to include street outreach, in addition to outreach on the CTA Blue Line.
Now, thanks to funding from the Illinois Regional Care Coordination Agency as part of their Community Outreach and Recovery Services program, Haymarket Center will be expanding direct street outreach across Chicago’s South Side that will meet the most vulnerable people in Chicago where they are, in temporary shelter encampments, public libraries, shelters, food pantries, and other areas where individuals experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity may be found.
The specialists on our outreach team work consistently and collaboratively with other outreach organizations, building trust with our organizational partners, and most importantly, the population of people that need Haymarket’s services. When Haymarket outreach specialists can work within these communities consistently, they’re not only able to build trust with people experiencing homelessness, they’re also able to provide consistent follow up and offer deeper services that individuals may not identify as a need when they first interact with Haymarket teams.
When Haymarket outreach specialists interact with a person experiencing homelessness, the first step is identifying what that person may need. At Haymarket Center, we provide screenings to all our clients, and our outreach specialists will be ready to link those who need it to medication assisted recovery programs, opioid and substance use disorder treatment, housing services, and other recovery support services. Staff will provide transportation, and ensure a “warm handoff” to these housing and recovery programs.
The areas that Haymarket Center’s Outreach Team will be expanding into were chosen because these areas have seen far too many overdoses, sometimes as many as 300 in 2022 alone. These areas have also been impacted by a high poverty rate, with over 12 percent living under the federal poverty line. All of the target neighborhoods are also among the 17 neighborhoods most affected by gun violence, and have been the focus of the Reimagine Public Safety Act.
Even with the challenges these areas face, our Outreach Team is well equipped to break through those barriers and help people experiencing homelessness get the assistance they need. Last year alone, our outreach team connected nearly 500 people seeking shelter on the Blue Line to substance use disorder treatment, housing, and primary medical care. We are proud to be able to keep expanding that work, and hope this year far exceeds that number.