Engaging the Community 

Building trust among individuals in need has been a major accomplishment for the CORS team at Haymarket Center, which is a designated Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike in Chicago. The team reflects, “We’ve learned that getting out more in the field, meeting with potential clients where they are, and conveying our genuine concern about their well-being builds strong relationships.” This bond provides a safe space for the team to offer and provide support, and a safe space for individuals to request and receive help. 

Other subrecipients report similar findings. The unfailing presence of coaches and safe atmosphere created in weekly pop-up events empowered an individual to ask to be taken to a withdrawal management facility; from there, he went into residential care. A peer working with a couple who had recently lost their housing talked with them in-depth about the CORS program, which led to both entering treatment. Another individual, who had been unhoused and unemployed since 1992, now lives in his own apartment and has a job. Such progress is a testament to what consistent support, trust-building, and community resources can accomplish.