Southland RISE: Resilience Initiative to Strengthen and Empower

Brenda Battle
Brenda Battle, Chief Equity Officer at UChicago Medicine, speaks during a Southland RISE event. Launched as a partnership between UChicago Medicine and Advocate Health Care, Southland RISE unites the violence recovery and trauma care programs of the two health systems.

Southland RISE (Resilience Initiative to Strengthen and Empower) is a collaborative uniting UChicago Medicine's Violence Recovery Program and Advocate Health Care's Trauma Recovery Center.

Launched in 2019, Southland RISE was inspired by U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin’s Chicago HEAL Initiative (Hospital Engagement, Action, Leadership). A partnership between two health systems, Southland RISE works together with community violence prevention partners to improve long-term trauma recovery care and mitigate violence-related injury in neighborhoods on Chicago's South Side and surrounding areas.

Our work

  • Community Violence Prevention Grant Program
    The program extends financial support to not-for-profit organizations offering a wide range of violence intervention programs that help keep young people and their families engaged and empowered during the summer. Since 2019, Southland RISE has distributed $650,000 in grant funding to more than 50 programs. Learn more.

  • Emergency Relief Fund for Survivors of Violence and their Families
    Southland RISE is helping meet immediate needs of individuals and families impacted by intentional violence. Patients receiving services through UChicago Medicine’s Violence Recovery Program as part of a comprehensive support plan may be eligible for food, housing, and utility assistance. Funding is provided by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA). To date, support has been provided to more than 100 individuals and their families.

  • Community Violence Prevention and Hospital Response Cross-Profession Training
    In collaboration with Metropolitan Peace Initiatives, this unique training strengthens relationships between hospital and community violence prevention professionals and improves understanding of the collaborative work. The result is better coordination of recovery and support for crime survivors and their families. More than 150 professionals have completed the four-day training. Learn more.

Contact Southland RISE

Anita Chávez-Berry
Senior Program Coordinator, Southland RISE
Advocate Trauma Recovery Center, Advocate Health Care
anita.chavez-berry@aah.org

DeQuesha Hopkins
Community Relations Coordinator, Southland RISE
Outreach Coordinator, Violence Recovery Program
Urban Health Initiative, UChicago Medicine
Dequesha.Hopkins@uchicagomedicine.org