The Opioid-Impacted Family Support Program seeks to bring care and relief to neighborhoods that are most affected by opioid use disorder in Chicago. Students are prepared through Malcolm X City College of Chicago’s Community Health Worker program and then placed with organizations serving as field experience partners or apprenticeship sites, which builds organizational capacity and increases community access to substance use prevention and behavioral health services. 
On July 11, 2023, Malcolm X City College of Chicago (MXC) hosted a Community Health Worker (CHW) Summit, introducing their first class of Opioid Impacted Family Support Program (OIFSP) students. These students have completed their coursework and are now employed as CHWs at Gateway Foundation, Above and Beyond Recovery Center, and HAP Foundation. The CHW Summit convened substance use disorder treatment and recovery support organizations, behavioral health, and healthcare organizations to discuss the need for CHWs in the workforce, specifically CHWs who can offer peer support through their own experiences in the community.
MXC OIFSP students shared their path in getting started in community health work, and how it has offered them professional development experiences, deep passion for the community, and a sense of resilience. Organizations participated in workshops on integrating community health workers in their staffing models and discussed how to address barriers in their efforts to employ more community health workers. With growing workforce challenges and staffing burnout, the CHW Summit offered hope, making space for providers to work together to set a path for community health workers and their professional growth through the MXC OIFSP.
“It is not every day you can get representation from 24 different employers into one room to discuss the benefits of apprenticeships but we did! Here is what we learned from them during our first CHW Apprenticeships Summit City Colleges of Chicago-Malcolm X College:
Attendees really enjoyed networking with other organizations. The strategy clinic was helpful and additional clinics would be useful. Attendees feel they now better understand the apprenticeship process. After the summit, some mentioned they still perceive barriers such as limited staff capacity for mentoring and no budget for new staff. A handful of organizations mentioned no barriers at all and are prepared to implement ASAP!
BUT most of all, everyone loved hearing from the apprentices about their experience and feedback!”
~ Veronica Sek, Senior Director, Health Sciences – Community Health Worker at Malcolm X College – City College of Chicago
“What I liked most about the CHW Apprenticeships Summit was the 3 ladies who completed their apprenticeships speaking about the knowledge and skills gained with their employers. The CHW Apprenticeship program has opened up the door for new opportunities and careers for them.”
~ CHW Summit Participant
Partners in this four-year initiative include Malcolm X College, University of Illinois at Chicago – Department of Disability and Human Development, Gateway Foundation, Inc., and Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago.
Learn more about CHW training here.
Learn more about opportunities for organizations here.
