CHICAGO – State Representative Lindsey LaPointe and her team are offering a series of three Substance Use Outreach Pop Up Events at the Jefferson Park Transit Center. The series, which kicked off on Thursday, July 25th, aims to connect people with both information and pathways to direct support such as detox, treatment, recovery and harm reduction supplies like Narcan. LaPointe’s Office worked with the CTA to provide space at the Jefferson Park Transit Center, an appropriate location due to the volume of overall people and neighbors in need of substance use and recovery support.
“We’ve long known that people on the far Northwest side deal with substance use and the long road to recovery,” LaPointe said. “Too often, people don’t know where to turn for support so we are trying to educate neighbors on what the options are with friendly, consistent faces over a series of three events. Substance use issues are healthcare issues and we want to reduce stigma so people can get the healthcare they deserve.”
Thursday’s event included representatives from Haymarket, Gateway, Healthcare Alternative Systems, Chicago Behavioral Hospital, and Lutheran Social Services of Illinois. Future events will include the Chicago Recovery Alliance, the Illinois Harm Reduction and Recovery Coalition and Rosecrance. The series will continue on Tuesday, August 27th and Thursday, September 19th from 10am to 12pm at the Jefferson Park Transit Center.
Representative LaPointe, a former social worker, is a leader on behavioral health and human service issues in Illinois and is the House Chair of the Mental Health and Addiction Committee in Springfield.
###
