Chicago House Announces Continued Expansion on Chicago’s South Side

In September 2020, Chicago House relocated its Central Hub office space to the Motor Row District on Chicago’s South Side and the agency’s Scattered-Site Housing program and HIV outreach and prevention services moved to St. Bernard’s Ambulatory Care Center located in the Englewood neighborhood.

Today, the agency announces continued expansion on Chicago’s South Side as a result of program growth and opportunity to support more individuals and families impacted by HIV. Chicago House’s community-based housing program, or Scattered-Site Housing program, for individuals living and impacted by HIV, will relocate to the Motor Row District. By relocating to the Central Hub, the Scattered-Site Housing program can better serve clients and collaborate with other Chicago House programs to address a client’s social determinants of health.

St. Bernard’s Ambulatory Care Center at 6307 S Stewart Ave, Chicago, IL 60621.

“We know a client-centered approach with multiple options is one of the few guarantees we have in this work to end the HIV epidemic in Illinois,” said Chief Program Officer Judy Perloff, LCSW. “The relocation and expansion of these key Chicago House services ensures that clients have additional ways to find services and provides our staff a greater opportunity to collaborate with other Chicago House programs to address an individual’s social determinants of health.”

Englewood saw some of the highest rates of new HIV transmissions in Chicago in 2019 and Chicago House’s Health, Outreach, Prevention and Education (HOPE) program intentionally relocated office and HIV testing space to Englewood in an effort to better serve hard-to-reach individuals. After two years providing HIV testing and outreach services in Englewood and at the agency’s Central Hub, HOPE is expanding its physical space and will offer new programs that advance the agency’s efforts as part of Getting To Zero Illinois.

HOPE will expand walk-in screening services for HIV, Hepatitis C, and Syphilis, and care coordination to same-day medical appointments, which allows clients to receive same-day prescriptions after meeting with a medical provider. HOPE will continue to collaborate with the Chicagoland Infectious Disease Clinic to provide same-day medical appointments on two Thursdays per month. This Walk-in Clinic will expand hours and now operate from 10 AM - 4 PM, with telehealth appointments available on demand on Tuesdays and every other Saturday.

In 2019, the LGBT Fund of the Chicago Community Trust generously funded the development of a drop-in program in Englewood designed to more effectively reach men who have sex with men (MSM) of color, and as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chicago House has reformatted this drop-in program. This fall, HOPE will launch two new drop-in programs— “The Spot” in Englewood and “The Tree House” at the agency’s Central Hub. Clients will be able to access HIV/STI screenings and care coordination services and engage in fun, recreational and themed, community-building activities. More details to come.