HRDI has once again demonstrated the agency’s commitment to meeting the most urgent needs of the clients we serve, through activities marking National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (recognized this year on February 7) and National Condom Month.

On Wednesday, February 10, HRDI’s Division for Community Health hosted an HIV/AIDS Condom Awareness program for clients at 33 E.114th Street. This event included individual testimonies, education materials, and free condoms. Meanwhile, HRDI’s Teen Pregnancy Prevention specialist visited the Harlan, Fenger, Julian and Corliss High Schools, to give out condoms and information on preventing STD transmission to Chicago students.

These activities represent only a small part of HRDI’s response to the urgent need for HIV/AIDS prevention in the African-American community and the City of Chicago. HRDI currently operates four programs in Chicago targeting clients either at risk of HIV infection or living with HIV/AIDS: an HIV Counseling and Testing program for substance abuse treatment clients; the Minority AIDS Initiative, serving HIV-positive clients with substance abuse disorders in a residential setting; the Ryan White Substance Abuse Program, serving HIV-positive clients undergoing methadone maintenance; and Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA), which provides housing advocacy and resources.

According to the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention’s 2008 Profile for Illinois, 49.5% of Reported AIDS Cases through 2007 were African-Americans. Illinois ranked 7th highest among the 50 states in cumulative reported AIDS cases. In 2006, in studies compiled by the American Social Health Association, both Black men and women had the highest HIV death rates per 100,000, ages 25-34 and 35-44, while HIV was the fourth leading cause of death for Black men and third leading cause of death for Black women, ages 25-44.

HRDI urges everyone to be informed, educated and involved to help prevent teen pregnancies, STDs, and HIV/AIDS.

HRDI is pleased to announce the opening of a new Assessments and Intake Center (AIC), including a dedicated telephone hotline. This new service will simplify the often complex process of qualifying for state-funded rehabilitative care for alcohol addiction and substance abuse.

Anyone who has or thinks they might know someone who has a problem with alcohol or drug abuse can call the confidential assessment hotline at 312-258-1092 to see if they qualify for one of HRDI’s supervised residential care programs. The Assessments and Intake Center will be based at HRDI’s Bakeman Leadership Institute, located at the corner of Calumet and East 51st Street, directly across from the Green Line station.

Intakes and assessments will be provided both in-person and over the phone any time between 8am and 1pm, Monday through Friday. General information on HRDI programs will also be available Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm.

For more information, please see HRDI's press release.

The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) has announced that the following HRDI programs have been accredited for a period of three years through October 2012:

Opioid Treatment Programs
• BRASS I
• BRASS II
• Southwest Central

Mental Health Programs
• Assertive Community Treatment: Mental Health (Adults)
• Case Management / Services Coordination: Mental Health (Adults)
• Community Housing Mental Health (Adults)
• Community Integration: Psychosocial Rehabilitation (Adults)
• Outpatient Treatment Integrated AOD/MH (Adult)
• Outpatient Treatment Integrated: AOD/MH (Children and Adolescents)

CARF is an independent, nonprofit accrediting body whose mission is to promote the quality, value, and optimal outcomes of services through a consultative assessment process that centers on enhancing the lives of the persons served. Founded in 1966, CARF establishes consumer-focused standards to help organizations measure and improve the quality of their programs.

This decision represents the highest level of accreditation that can be awarded to an organization and shows HRDI's substantial conformance to the CARF standards. An organization receiving a Three-Year Accreditation has put itself through a rigorous peer review process and has demonstrated to a team of surveyors during an on-site visit that its programs and services are of the highest quality, measurable, and accountable.

HRDI is proud to announce our reaccreditation by the Council on Accreditation (COA)!

COA is an independent, not-for-profit, international body that was founded in 1977 and accredits a wide range of community-based behavioral health care and human service organizations. Over 1800 public and private organizations, serving over seven million people, are either accredited by COA or in the process of seeking accreditation.

COA undertook a detailed review and analysis of HRDI’s administrative operations and service delivery practices in 2009. COA rigorously measured HRDI's work against standards that are based on national best practices. These standards are designed to ensure that services are accessible, culturally responsive, evidence-based, respectful to the people served, and provided by a skilled workforce (among other requirements).

The renewal of HRDI's COA accreditation represents a vote of confidence for the credibility, integrity, and achievement of the entire organization. You can read COA's own press release congratulating HRDI for our reaccreditation here.

 

HRDI staff and clients were among the 5,000 people who came out to Springfield Tuesday, the 23rd of June, to rally against the looming doomsday social services budget cuts. The feared cuts would have slashed funding for community and state-provided services by 50 percent, leaving thousands of adults and adolescents without addiction treatment, eliminating programs for people with developmental disabilities, and closing psychiatric hospitals, among other reductions.

 

Having been with the agency for more than 30 years, Ms. Ollie M. Knight, HRDI Interim President & CEO, knew that HRDI had to move swiftly and fight for its clients and programs. Working with HRDI acting Board Chairman and First Vice Chairman Mark V. Tilman, JD, and HRDI Co-founder Doris M. Lomax, Knight decided to send a group of HRDI clients and staff to advocate against the budget cuts at a rally in Springfield.

 

The HRDI group rallied on the steps of the Capitol Building, accompanied by thousands of other protestors, representing all different types of programs and a diversity of ages and races. Clients and staff alike benefitted from getting an up close view of democracy in action.

On June 10, 2009, a commencement ceremony was held for the graduating middle school and high school classes of Vivian E. Summers Preparatory School.

Vivian E. Summers, a program within the array of youth services provided by HRDI, offers alternative education for students removed from the traditional Chicago Public Schools system due to behavioral problems and other issues. The graduation celebrated these students’ efforts to work through their difficulties to attain an education and improve their lives.

In all, 28 eighth-graders and 11 high school seniors participated in the graduation, which was held at the Harold Washington Cultural Center in Chicago’s Grand Boulevard Community.  Principal Sean Smith gave out three awards to each graduating class: Principal’s Scholar for academic achievement, Citizenship for positive interactions in school, and Rising Star for overall most improved student. Taylor Bain, an eighth-grader who received the Principal’s Scholar award for her academic progress, delivered the Class Address.

The commencement was well-attended not only by proud family members, but also by HRDI’s Board of Directors and staff. Mrs. Ollie M. Knight, Interim President & CEO, was joined by HRDI Co-Founder, Mrs. Doris M. Lomax, and Board members Mr. John Williams, Mr. Earl Williams, and Dr. Clifford Claiborne. Senator Emil Jones III, whose district includes Vivian E. Summers, attended the luncheon following the ceremony as well, where he presented a 2009 New Generation of Leaders Award to Ms. Bain with praise.