The Opioid-Impacted Family Support Program seeks to bring care and relief to neighborhoods that are most affected by opioid use disorder in Chicago.
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.
How it Works
Students are prepared through Malcolm X College’s Community Health Worker (CHW) program with entry-level knowledge, skills, and expertise to provide services to youth and families impacted by opioid use disorders (OUD), other substance use disorders, and mental health diagnoses. With a focus on Chicago’s West Side, students then work with mentors and clinicians to connect people who are suffering from OUD and their families with essential resources and support to fight the opioid crisis in Chicago.
Learn more about CHW training here.
Organizations that focus on substance use prevention and mental health services for clients and their families participate in one of two ways:
- As Field Experience partners, providing students the opportunity to grow their skills through 80 hours of hands-on, real-world experience over the course of 12-14 weeks
- As Apprenticeship sites, adding certified Community Health Workers to their team for at least one year by adopting the apprenticeship model which includes competency building and mentorship
Participating organizations can include hospital systems, health clinics and centers, community-based organizations, non-profits, associations, health agencies, and educational systems.
Learn more about opportunities for organizations here.
The Need
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2 million people in the United States suffer from an opioid-use disorder each year, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that there were more than 100,000 drug-involved overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2021.
Community health workers are effective at addressing this growing crisis.
To learn more about the impact of community health workers, check out the National Association of Community Health Workers’ Resource Library, which includes Hiring Practices that Support State Integration of Community Health Workers, A Community Participatory Approach to Identify Common Evaluation Indicators for Community Health Worker Practice, and provider perspectives from a survey of more than 300 providers in Arizona and a series of semi-structured provider interviews in California.
