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Bringing Oral Health Home. An Implementation Evaluation of Heartland Alliance Health’s Shelter-Based Oral Health Outreach Program

May 10, 2022

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, Heartland Alliance Health (HAH) aligned with multiple residential sites serving people experiencing homelessness and people with substance use disorders to expand access to oral health services for their residents through site-based outreach.The HAH Shelter-Based Oral Health pilot program aims to improve the oral health of individuals experiencing homelessness and increase access to oral health services and other services addressing social determinants of health. The pilot program aims to do this by establishing stronger partnerships with residential sites and providing on-site dental services. The long-term goals of the program are to increase knowledge for medical providers to successfully implement and deliver on-site oral health care and continue developing strategic alignment between Heartland Alliance Health and residential sites.Recognizing the importance of program implementation in effective service delivery, the evaluation of the Oral Health Service followed the World Health Organization's Implementation Framework. To understand how the service was operationalized, the outcome variables of acceptability, adoption, appropriateness, feasibility, fidelity, coverage and sustainability were assessed. Research questions were developed within each of the overarching outcome variables, sourced from relevant literature and the HAH Oral Health Logic Model (Appendix A). The logic model was co-developed by the research team, HAH Oral Health staff, and outreach partner staff. Specifically, the research questions for this report focus on the implementation of the Oral Health Service based on identified short- and mid- term outcomes.

THE COVID-19 DOMINO EFFECT: How the pandemic deepened systemic oppression for Black and Latino Illinoisans

July 12, 2021

COVID-19 and the resulting instability has left an indelible mark on every corner of our society. The compounding stressors of uncertain futures, health crises, isolation, financial strain, individual and collective trauma, and juggling life responsibilities is taking a massive toll on people. While the virus itself does not discriminate, the systems in place and the responses do: Black and Latino people are bearing the brunt of the negative impacts.The following data and stories illustrate how the pandemic started a domino effect for Black and Latino Illinoisans. When you are already living on the edge, losing one support can cause others to crumble. Just as the ripple effects of the pandemic did not affect us equally, the recovery must not take a one-size-fits-all approach. We must invest in the hardest hit communities—and that means providing a foundation for people of color to heal and thrive.

Services to Trafficking Survivors in Illinois Targeted Communities

March 17, 2021

This report documents the implementation and participant outcomes of a partnership project intended to increase identification of and service provision to survivors of human trafficking by providing training and technical assistance to organizations in high-need areas in Illinois. Prior to the development of this partnership, anti-trafficking resources in Illinois had been concentrated in Chicago and the surrounding area. Other areas of the state, namely Peoria and Kankakee, had low levels of anti-trafficking resources and victim identification, despite high vulnerability factors for trafficking. 

Integrated Care in a Fast- Changing and Slow-Moving Environment: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of the Health Neighborhood Project

July 23, 2020

Health Neighborhood, a pilot project within Heartland Alliance Health (HAH), intended to create a population-based approach of improving integrated care among people with experiences of homelessness, who were housed in permanent supportive housing (PSH). The program was built on through intensive partnerships between HAH and five Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) providers: Chicago House, North Side Housing and Supportive Services, Deborah's Place, Housing Opportunities for Women, and Heartland Human Care Services (HHCS). The program was implemented from 2016 – 2019, and served 46 participants.

Never Fully Free: The Scale and Impact of Permanent Punishments on People with Criminal Records in Illinois

June 29, 2020

This first-of-its-kind study confirms that more than 3.3 million people in Illinois could be impacted by permanent punishments as a result of prior "criminal justice system" involvement, which is more accurately referred to as the "criminal legal system" given the well-documented inequities that bring into question whether the system actually brings justice to people who come into contact with it."Never Fully Free: The Scale and Impact of Permanent Punishments on People with Criminal Records in Illinois," lifts up that permanent punishments are the numerous laws and barriers aimed at people with records that limit their human rights and restrict access to the crucial resources needed to re-build their lives, such as employment, housing, and education. The report recommends a broad dismantling of permanent punishments, so that those who have been involved with the criminal legal system have the opportunity to fully participate in society.The data illustrates the dramatic number of people who may be living with the stigma and limitations of a criminal record in Illinois. Since the advent of mass incarceration in 1979, there are an estimated 3.3 million adults who have been arrested or convicted of a crime in Illinois. Under current laws, these individuals have limited rights even after their criminal legal system involvement has ended. In fact, the report uncovered a vast web of 1,189 laws in Illinois that punish people with criminal records, often indefinitely.

Motivational Interviewing: HIV-Related Health Outcomes and Social Determinants of Health

January 14, 2020

For individuals experiencing housing insecurity—and other hardships associated with poverty, such as low rates of health literacy, food insecurity, lack of transportation, and restricted access to quality health care—an HIV diagnosis exacerbates an already burdened quality of life. These larger structural barriers may inhibit HIV+ participants from feeling able to change individual-level behaviors which may complicate their HIV status. One counseling intervention that addresses obstacles to change is Motivational Interviewing (MI). MI is a collaborative, client centered approach that fosters communication between a service provider and their recipient with the goal of identifying and resolving the change goals identified during the counseling session. Studies on healthcare outcomes for chronically ill individuals who received MI interventions indicate that, when followed properly, MI can effect long-term, positive behavior changes. This paper defines MI, explores it's applications among HIV+ participants, describes an MI fidelity monitoring tool, and situates MI relevance while acknowledging the influence of social determinants of health.

Illinois and Chicago Region: Poverty, Income and Health Insurance

September 26, 2019

Millions of people in Illinois experience poverty or are living on the brink. That societal position keeps opportunities out of reach and nearly guarantees worse outcomes in every quality of life domain—making ALL of us worse off. The poverty rate for the United States was 11.8% in 2018, a decline of 0.5 percentage points from 2017. There were 38.1 million people in poverty nationwide. In 2018, 1.5 million Illinoisans were in poverty—a rate of 12.1%. Additionally, 2.0 million Illinoisans are near poor and economically insecure with incomes between 100% and 199% of the federal poverty threshold. This year marks the first time that the U.S.poverty rate is below pre-recession levels; Illinois lags behind this trend,with its poverty rate just returning to pre-recession levels.

The Gender Disadvantage: Why Inequity Persists

March 13, 2019

Poverty does not treat everyone equally. Women, children, gender minorities, and people of color are often the hardest hit. And while women in poverty experience the same issues that all people in poverty experience—income inequality, unemployment, poor health, violence, trauma, and more—the odds are often uniquely stacked against them in gendered ways.There are 6.5 million women. and an estimated 50,000 trans people living in Illinois. They are a driving force in our economy and care for our children, sick, and elderly, and yet continue to face discrimination and inequitable opportunities. This year's annual report on poverty in Illinois shows how gender, gender identity, and gender norms shape experiences of poverty for women and gender minorities—and how women who have other marginalized identities experience even more inequity. If we want to dramatically reduce poverty, improving the well-being of women— particularly women of color—would deliver the biggest return.

Big Shoulders, Bold Solutions; Economic Security for Chicagoans

February 1, 2019

Chicago is in so many ways a thriving global city. But far too many of us face the daily reality of financialinsecurity caused by jobs that don't pay enough to live on, that have unstable hours, and that don't providebenefits that many in the workforce a generation ago enjoyed. Both as a city and as a people, economicresilience in the face of change is critical to create a thriving metropolis, yet strong forces are pushing us awayfrom this, not towards it: deep racial and gender inequity; steadily widening income inequality; the erosion ofthe middle class; the rise in contingent work and looming automation of jobs. The result? Work is unreliableand income is precarious for those living in deep poverty and all the way up into the middle class.In response to these realities, last summer the Chicago City Council passed a resolution to create the ChicagoResilient Families Initiative Task Force to assess and determine the scope of a guaranteed income pilot aswell as solutions to modernize the Earned Income Tax Credit. Since then, at the behest of Mayor Emanuel,the task force has met, learned, dug deep and explored different paths to economic security and resiliencyfor Chicagoans. We sought advice from community residents and national experts who have been engageddeeply in these questions for years

L’Arche Chicago Theory of Change Narrative

November 15, 2018

L'Arche Chicago (www.larchechicago.org) is a non-profit organization in Oak Park, IL that provides high quality health, housing, and social services to people with with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD), whom L'Arche terms "core members." L'Arche Chicago's unique model of care differs from other community-integrated living arrangements (CILA) in that staff, assistants, and core members live together in homes and develop mutually-transforming relationships through shared life experiences. L'Arche Chicago opened its doors in 2000 with one home, two core members, and two assistants. Today, L'Arche Chicago has three homes, two of which opened in the past four years, and a total of nine core members and fourteen assistants.As L'Arche Chicago has grown, and anticipates further growth, the organization recognized a need to be able to define, visualize, and express their larger organizational theory of change and identify and track outcomes to measure L'Arche's impact on members, assistants, and the wider community. To do this, the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation collaborated with the Social IMPACT Research Center (IMPACT) to provide technical assistance to L'Arche Chicago with the goal of developing a theory of change

Illinois and Chicago Region: Poverty, Income and Health Insurance (Fact Sheet)

September 13, 2018

Millions of people in Illinois experience poverty or are living on the brink. That societal position keeps opportunities out of reach and nearly guarantees worse outcomes in every quality of life domain—making ALL of us worse off.This fact sheet on poverty, income, and health insurance coverage in Illinois and the Chicago region, was created using the Census Bureau's release of local American Community Survey data.The poverty rate for the United States was 12.3% in 2017. There were 39.7 million people in poverty nationwide. The poverty rate is not significantly different from the pre-recession level of 12.5% in 2007. In 2017, 1.6 million Illinoisans were in poverty ─ a rate of 12.6%. Additionally, 2.0 million Illinoisans are near poor and economically insecure with incomes between 100% and 199% of the federal poverty threshold.

The Social Return on Investment for New Moms

August 1, 2018

New Moms (www.newmoms.org) is a non-profit organization based in the Austin neighborhood in Chicago and in Oak Park, IL that provides wraparound health, housing, and social services to young moms. New Moms utilizes an integrated, participant (and woman)-centered approach to interrupt the two-generation cycle of poverty, by focusing on critical life services both for moms and children. The current program structure is built on a three-pronged approach of housing, family support services, and job training, with over arching support and referral services infused throughout all programming.The New Moms SROI study encompassed October 2015 - September 2017, and included all young women who exited any of the three New Moms program areas during this time and who fell below 138% of the Federal Poverty Line.The findings show that investing in New Moms generates nearly a 4-fold return for every dollar invested. This SROI clearly makes the case that transitional supportive housing, paired with holistic wrap around services, is a critical intervention, specifically for young moms. If, as a society, we believe in investing in breaking the two-generation cycle of poverty, then the value provided by this model should serve as a clear call to investment.