Healthy Chicago Podcast

13 years ago, Maria Pike’s son was shot and killed while parking in Logan Square. Today, she is a powerful advocate for survivors of gun violence and a passionate supporter for community engagement and community violence intervention (CVI) in Chicago. Pike is one of the founding members of the city's Gun Violence Survivors Leadership Network, a cohort of community leaders who are gun violence...

De acuerdo con la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS), seis personas por minuto se salvan de morir gracias a la vacunación, una tendencia que se ha mantenido durante las últimas cinco décadas. Las vacunas salvan vidas. En el marco de la Semana Mundial de la Inmunización, que se conmemora la última semana de abril, en el episodio más reciente del podcast en español de Healthy Chicago, conversamo...

How is Chicago supporting the health of Black women and their babies? During Black Maternal Health Week, Commissioner Olusimbo Ige is joined in conversation by Monica Mitchell of CDPH and Hailey Steele from EverThrive Illinois to discuss the disparities Black women and their babies experience during pregnancy and postpartum, and the resources available to pregnant people in the city. EverThrive is...

Abril es el mes de la Concientización sobre el Consumo de Alcohol, y en este episodio, la terapeuta y fundadora de la clínica Encuéntrate Counseling and Consulting, Daisy Gómez, nos explica cómo el consumo de alcohol afecta la salud mental y el entorno de la persona. Además, aborda cómo el trauma en la comunidad latina (estrés migratorio, ansiedad, depresión) puede contribuir a un aumento en el co...

Alcohol is pervasive in society, from sporting events to birthday parties and funerals. But, at what point does alcohol use begin to look like a problem? This April, for Alcohol Awareness Month, we delve into how alcohol use is habitualized and what one can do to get help, should they want it. Dr. Jenny Hua (Medical Director for Behavioral Health and Interim Deputy Commissioner at CDPH) speaks wit...

“The zip code you either are born in or you live in should not dictate how long you live. Period.” Dion Dawson’s Chicago Dream saved his life. In 2020, during the pandemic, Dawson was broke, angry, and disillusioned by a system that had not advanced in providing food equity and accessibility since he was a transient, sometimes homeless kid at age five. That year, what Dawson created – with the ass...

En el año 2024, la violencia armada fue declarada como una crisis de salud pública en Estados Unidos. La violencia armada en Chicago representa 2.1 años de la brecha racial de la esperanza de vida, evidenciando disparidad entre distintos vecindarios en la ciudad y las consecuencias que se han ido extendiendo por generaciones. En el episodio más reciente del podcast en español de Healthy Chicago, G...

In this episode, we dive into the work of the Metropolitan Peace Initiatives, where street outreach and community engagement are at the heart of violence intervention. Steve Perkins (Director of Field Instruction) and Elvis Ortega (Street Outreach Lead at the Community Safety Coordination Center and the Mayor’s Office of Community Safety), share their insights on how Metropolitan Family Services i...

De acuerdo con los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades, las mujeres latinas tienen un mayor riesgo de padecer cáncer cervicouterino en comparación con mujeres de otros grupos raciales. Factores lingüísticos, culturales y educativos son algunas de las barreras que enfrentan para lograr una detección temprana de esta enfermedad. En el episodio más reciente de nuestro podcast en e...

Teamwork Englewood is a nonprofit, community-based organization working to build a stronger, better Englewood community area. Tametrius Files (Public Safety Coordinator for Teamwork Englewood + Community Engagement Manager with Community Safety Coordination Center) joins John Jones (Rapid Response Lead at the Community Safety Coordination Center) to discuss the organization’s focus, their “Quality...

Dr. Alex Sloboda (Medical Director of Immunizations and Emergency Preparedness at CDPH) sits down with Joe Amaro (Senior Emergency Management Coordinator with CDPH) to discuss emergency planning and how Chicagoans can best prepare themselves for future public health emergency situations. Whether it is COVID-19, measles, power failures, or environmental challenges, this conversation explores how em...

John Jones (Rapid Response Lead at the Community Safety Coordination Center) and Jarvis Buchanan (Founder and Director of Hood Heroes ) discuss the transformative mission of Hood Heroes, focusing on youth employment and empowerment as pathways to build stronger, safer communities. At the heart of impactful community engagement lies a servant's heart, and this episode offers an in-depth explora...

Febrero es el mes dedicado a la concientización sobre la salud del corazón, un recordatorio de que hábitos sencillos como caminar, andar en bicicleta o practicar deportes pueden reducir significativamente los riesgos de enfermedades cardíacas. El Distrito de Parques de Chicago juega un papel crucial en la salud cardiovascular de la comunidad, ofreciendo programas y recursos que promueven un estilo...

February marks the commemoration of Black History Month and National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness. On this episode, Antonio King (CDPH Public Health Administrator, LGBTQ Health and Outreach Liaison) discusses HIV prevention and community engagement in the Black LGBTQ community with Jamie Frazier (Executive Director of Lighthouse Foundation ). Lighthouse Foundation began as a church in 2019 in response...

February commemorates American Heart Month. Dr. Ajanta Patel (Medical Director at CDPH, Chronic Disease Prevention) speaks with Mya Gamble (Community Impact Director with the American Heart Association) and Kathryn Welch (Executive Administrator to the CEO of Greater Auburn-Gresham Development Corporation) about heart health, hypertension awareness, and what resources & activities Chicagoans c...

Estamos en plena temporada de virus respiratorios, y en Chicago hemos visto un aumento de contagios por influenza. Es importante saber identificar los síntomas y actuar de inmediato para evitar consecuencias graves en la salud. En este episodio, el Dr. Alfredo Mena Lora, especialista en enfermedades infecciosas, nos comparte recomendaciones para mantenernos seguros durante esta temporada, además d...

What is Street Outreach? Elvis Ortega (Street Outreach Lead at the Community Safety Coordination Center and the Mayor’s Office of Community Safety) and Sam Castro (Director of Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships at the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago) discuss the critical role of street outreach in fostering community safety, preventing violence, and building trust within neighborhoods. The I...

En diciembre del 2024, CDPH publicó el informe del Plan Estratégico Healthy Chicago 2025, el cual presenta los datos sobre la esperanza de vida en nuestra ciudad y destaca el nuevo enfoque del departamento para reducir las desigualdades raciales en la salud. En este episodio, la Dra. Geraldine Luna, Directora Médica de CDPH, explica los factores que causan las disparidades en enfermedades y muerte...

What are Victim Services? Stephaney Harris (Victim Services Lead at the Community Safety Coordination Center with CDPH) and JaShawn Hill (Executive Director of Chicago Survivors) discuss support to survivors of violent crime in Chicago, why it is so important, and how direct and indirect victims of community violence can receive care for their exposure to traumatic experiences. Chicago Survivors i...

The Pilsen South Ashland Health Hub (1713 S. Ashland Ave., 312-743-7500) officially opened to Pilsen residents on Monday, October 28, 2024 and offers no-cost mental health services for adults and youth, alongside an expanded range of health care services such as immunizations and referrals to community health partners for Special Supplemental Nutrition for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) service...

La Clínica de Salud Mental de Pilsen South Ashland ya abrió sus puertas y ofrece servicios de salud mental gratuitos para todas las personas que necesiten apoyo. En nuestro episodio más reciente del podcast Healthy Chicago en Español, el Director de las Clínicas de Salud Mental de CDPH, Francisco Rodríguez, nos explica qué tipo de terapias se ofrecen, cómo acceder a ellas, y la importancia de cont...

Las compras, las reuniones, las tareas de fin de año y el ajetreo de las fiestas decembrinas pueden generar altos niveles de estrés. Pero, ¿sabías que existen ejercicios de yoga muy sencillos que puedes integrar en tu día a día para mantener el estrés bajo control? ¡Son fáciles de hacer! La instructora de yoga Silvita Díaz Brown nos enseña varias poses para aliviar el estrés durante esta temporada...

This week, Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) released the Healthy Chicago 2025 Strategic Plan – including a progress report on the previous 2025 Healthy Chicago report launched in 2020, and a revised plan to tackle the drivers of the widening life expectancy gap between Black and non-Black Chicagoans. Commissioner Olusimbo Ige and McKenna McMaster (Project Manager for the Commissioner) di...

Elvis Ortega (Lead Street Outreach Liaison for the Community Safety Coordination Center and the Mayor’s Office for Community Safety) speaks with Rob Castaneda (Executive Director of Beyond the Ball and a coordinator with the Little Village Violence Prevention Collaborative) about violence prevention, community organizing, safe space activations, and how progress is being made in Lawndale, Little V...

Vilmarie Fraguada, psicóloga, cofundadora y directora de la organización sin fines de lucro Sana Healing Collective , es la invitada más reciente del podcast Healthy Chicago en Español . En esta ocasión, conversó con Cynthia Ibarra, Coordinadora de Información en la Oficina de Información Pública del CDPH, sobre su labor como activista para poner fin a la guerra contra las drogas en Chicago y cómo...