Paving the Path to Homeownership for Housing Choice Voucher Holders
Since the mid-20th century, homeownership has been one of the most important vehicles for building wealth in the United States. According to research from the…
Grants
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Our Grantmaking Strategy
For more than 100 years, The Chicago Community Trust has convened, supported, funded, and accelerated the work of community members and changemakers committed to strengthening the Chicago region. From building up our civic infrastructure to spearheading our response to the Great Recession, the Trust has brought our community together to face pressing challenges and seize our greatest opportunities. Today, that means confronting the racial and ethnic wealth gap.
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Grant Recipient
Brave Space Alliance
Brave Space Alliance (BSA) respectfully requests $50,000 to provide seed funding for the development and initial implementation of a new mental health program based out of BSA’s Hyde Park location. As Chicago’s first Black-led, trans-led LGBTQ organization, BSA provides culturally competent services to address the lack of influence BIPOC trans people have within institutions that make decisions affecting our lives. By expanding into mental health services, BSA will fill a critical need expressed by our community.
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Grant Recipient
Legal Council for Health Justice
Legal Council’s recently-established Trans Law Project coordinates with our existing Medical-Legal Partnership (MLP) with Howard Brown Health (HBH) and other priority health centers to provide holistic services for low-income, trans and gender non-conforming (TGNC) clients seeking gender-affirming medical care. This project will offer direct legal assistance with a focus on (1) insurance denials for gender-affirming surgery, (2) name change and gender marker issues, (3) expungement services, and (4) comprehensive public benefits advocacy. In addition to direct legal services, project staff are involved in state and national impact advocacy to improve access to healthcare for Medicare enrollees and advocate for access to care through the state employee insurance network.
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Grant Recipient
Alivio
The LGBTQ Health Program will focus on outreach, education, and connection to physical and mental health services as well as LGBTQ-centered Therapeutic Affinity Groups. The proposed project plan involves Community Outreach Workers that either currently or previously have direct lived experience that mirror the communities Alivio intend to reach, such as, LGBTQ and Latinx, LGBTQ and homeless, LGBTQ and elderly, TGNC and Latinx, and more.
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Grant Recipient
Life Is Work
Life Is Work proposes Lois’ House, an emergency housing program specifically centering women of the trans spectrum supported with wrap-around services including the development of a long term housing plan. Wrap around services include long term shelter; intensive case management; individual and group level interventions; culturally responsive gender affirming health care services to include HIV Prevention; mental health and substance use treatment; and enrollment in training and workshop series that prepare these historically marginalized clients for their next steps.
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Grant Recipient
Chicago Family Health Center, Inc.
A grant from the CCT would support the creation of a new therapy group for patients who are HIV+, a cost-effective way to provide behavioral health services to a patient population often disproportionately affected by mental illness. The grant would support the salary of the primary staff member leading the group sessions.
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Grant Recipient
Primecare Community Health Inc
PrimeCare Community Health is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), serving Chicago communities since 1992. Our mission is to promote wellness and provide accessible, compassionate, and culturally respectful health care in partnership with our patients and the communities we serve. Since our inception, we have provided high-quality health care services to underserved populations, exceeding national quality benchmarks. In 2022, PrimeCare was recognized by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as a Health Center Quality Leader Gold, placing us among the top 9% of all Community Health Centers in the nation for a wide range of key patient clinical indicators and health outcomes. PrimeCare is requesting a $50,000 grant from the Chicago Community Trust to support our new Gender Affirming Care (GAC) Program. This funding will support the general operations and implementation of PrimeCare’s new Gender Affirming Care Program by providing salary support for our clinical lead and provider who will be overseeing the program and support for a clinical-staff training on gender affirming care/caring for transgender individuals. In addition to Gender Affirming Services, PrimeCare also offers primary care, prenatal and delivery, pediatrics, dental, behavioral health, psychiatry, medication-assisted treatment, population health coordination, case management, and eligibility and assistance services at six community-based locations. All these services allow PrimeCare to create a Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) approach to care, where patients can receive many services in just one location. PrimeCare’s service area is located in a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA), meaning there are not enough providers to accommodate the population. With a shortage of providers, it is challenging for many in the community to access a “medical home.” In addition, many transgender community members have difficulty finding providers who are trained in caring for their specific needs, while also trained in being culturally respectful. PrimeCare’s new GAC Program will allow transgender community members access to an affordable, culturally respectful medical home to not only support their gender affirmation journey, but also manage and maintain all other aspects of health.
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Grant Recipient
NORTHWEST COMPASS INC
Northwest Compass, Inc. has been serving the homeless and housing insecure in the Northwest Suburbs of Cook County for more than 37 years. We are currently seeing increased demand for our services and specifically among youth clients in crisis. More than 60% of our youth clients have self identified as LGBTQ+. With increased demand from this subpopulation we need to be able to support these clients who have a diverse set of needs. As an organization that operates under a "turn no one away" philosophy we are in need of greater financial resources to provide culturally specific crisis support and services for LGBTQ+ youth in need of assistance.
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Grant Recipient
AIDS Foundation of Chicago
AIDS Foundation Chicago (AFC) respectfully requests $49,920.00 to create a client assistance fund to support 50 transgender and same gender loving clients from AFC’s HIV Corrections Case Management Program (CCMP). In partnership with community-based agencies across Chicago, CCMP connects clients from the moment they leave jail or prison by connecting them to primary medical care, housing, substance use services, and/or mental health services. The assistance fund will support CCMP clients’ transition back into their communities as they after release from incarceration by providing access to essentials, such as food, transportation, and home supplies.