The Next Generation Wellness Network (NextGen) builds organizational capacity to support youth in Chicago. In collaboration with community-based organizations, institutions, and youth service providers, NextGen serves as the Chicago hub for a statewide program of Regional Substance Use Prevention Integration Centers (RSUPIC), integrating new and existing substance use prevention strategies through collaboration, training, and support to improve the overall health and well-being of youth.
The Illinois Department of Human Services – Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery (IDHS-DBHR) oversees the RSUPIC program statewide, and PHIMC functions as the RSUPIC lead for the City of Chicago. PHIMC provides substance use prevention subject matter expertise, leverages available data sources to integrate substance use prevention strategies into youth programs and services, and convenes and participates in city-wide coalitions to facilitate a more equitable and trauma-informed prevention system in Illinois.
Community Advisory Board
PHIMC invites youth-serving organizations to join the Community Advisory Board to contribute their expertise and guidance and foster a collaborative environment. Thank you to our partners listed below for their active participation.
For more information, please reach out to James Lones.
The Need
According to the 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 29.3% of high school students in Chicago have tried marijuana, 41.6% have tried alcohol, and 5.1% have misused a prescription drug such as Adderall, Ritalin, or Xanax, not including prescription pain medicine. When asking Chicago high school students about early substance use, 4.3% reported trying marijuana before the age of 13, and 14.3% reported trying alcohol before the age of 13.
We recognize that the past few years have been challenging for youth in Chicago. We also know that youth need comprehensive support, education, and information related to multiple behavioral health topics that will help decrease risk factors associated with substance use.
Our Approach
PHIMC is committed to promoting health equity and expanding access to care across the state of Illinois. Using harm reduction frameworks, PHIMC works with each of its direct service partners to incorporate a spectrum of strategies from safer substance use to managed substance use, to address mental health and trauma, and to incorporate a non-judgmental, non-punitive, non-coercive approach. PHIMC partnerships ensure that the people most impacted have a real voice in the creation of programs and policies designed to serve them.
PHIMC actively works to facilitate a more equitable and trauma-informed prevention system in Illinois by providing substance use prevention integration services with special attention to the following populations:
Youth whose parents use substances
Youth at risk of or currently experiencing homelessness
Youth disproportionally at risk of experiencing homelessness, including LGBTQ+ youth and those with child welfare or justice system involvement
What We Do
The Next Generation Wellness Network:
Identifies and addresses emerging substance use issues in Chicago by leveraging needs assessments and local networks.
Integrates innovative, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed substance use prevention strategies while fostering a full continuum of services.
Strengthens collaboration among DBHR-funded providers, coalitions, BASE (Build, Amplify, Support, Empowerment) programs.
Provides prevention expertise to ensure fidelity to effective practices.
Supports the integration of a harm reduction framework within youth serving organizations and institutions.
Convenes a community advisory board to guide prevention efforts, to support networking among youth-serving organizations across Chicago, and to share successes and strategies for addressing challenges.
Develops prevention materials, training, and technical assistance that can be tailored to an organization’s strengths and needs.
Examples of Substance Use Prevention Topics We Cover
Introduction to Harm Reduction
Substance Use and Its Impacts
Talking to Youth About Substance Use
Ecological Influences on Youth Substance Use
Fentanyl and Other Opioids
PHIMC’s online Substance Prevention and Awareness Resource Kit (SPARK) was designed to support Chicago youth in developing healthy relationships with substances. The public resource hub includes free resources accessible to anyone interested in starting this work. The facilitator portal provides lesson plans and resources developed by PHIMC and its partners.
If you do not find what you need on the SPARK Portal, please reach out. Additional training topics, resource lists, printable handouts, and other supplemental materials are available on request.
Please note that PHIMC does not work directly with young people nor with clients of our partner organizations. Our aim is to help integrate substance use prevention services into existing youth programming. We do this by facilitating organizational capacity building and providing technical assistance.
Next Steps
For more information about how RSUPIC operates throughout the state of Illinois, click here. Refer to this map provided by IDHS to determine your region. To learn how you can get involved in Chicago, please contact James Lones.
Follow us on Instagram at @nextgenphimc
