When Lena was released from incarceration in 2022, she was paroled into a halfway house for individuals assigned male at birth. This was extremely difficult for Lena, who identified as female. Without much belief in the health care system or finding stable housing and employment, she felt resigned returning to prison.

Fortunately, in 2021, Chicago House set out to dismantle the systemic barriers that exist for individuals living with HIV who are experiencing health inequities in jail systems. After receiving seed funding from ViiV Healthcare, we began partnering with Cook County Department of Corrections (CCDOC) to establish new pathways to coordinated care for transgender inmates in protective custody.

Given that around 50% of Black transgender women are living with HIV and face disproportionate rates of incarceration, re-entry is a crucial time for medication adherence and viral suppression. While in prison, treatment is available, however, when discharged, individuals often fall out of care. Additionally, their basic needs aren’t addressed, pushing them to utilize emergency departments as primary care while putting them at risk of recidivism.

At CCDOC, our TransLife Care team began offering weekly on-site workshops to share life skills and post-release options. Lena, who received information about our programs through these workshops, was referred to our TransSafe drop-in and submitted an application for housing while there. As a result, she gained access to a new space that promoted her authenticity, independence, and self-sufficiency, with a goal for Lena to take over full rental payments. Within a year of being a Chicago House resident, Lena secured full-time employment and graduated from our housing program in 2023.

With the initial success of our partnership, Chicago House launched sexual health education groups for a broader population, including male inmates who don’t identify as gay but have sexual relations with other men, which is a population at high risk of HIV transmission. Through our expansion, Chicago House had the opportunity to work more closely with Cook County Health, who support our work in the prison and beyond connecting former inmates to follow up care and treatment.

These partnerships are critical to getting to zero new HIV transmissions. Prison systems, specifically, are often inaccessible to organizations interested in providing on-site programs, so Chicago House’s collaboration with CCDOC is breaking new ground on how we can work together to achieve better health outcomes. Stay tuned for more details about our Pathways Out of Prison initiative on our socials!