Chicago, IL
The AIDS Foundation Chicago implemented the Safe and Sound Return Partnership from May 2018 through March 2020 as part of a Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS) initiative. The goal of the Safe and Sound Return Partnership was to support people recently released from prison or jail who were reentering the city’s South and Westside neighborhoods. This support was designed to help them maintain their HIV care, and obtain housing and employment. Peer community reengagement specialists from the Safe and Sound Return Partnership worked in tandem with case managers to enable referrals to employment and housing programs for participants before they reentered the community or shortly after their return to the community. Evaluation results showed the program had a positive effect on employment, housing, and linkage and retention in HIV care.
It can be challenging for people with HIV to continue receiving HIV treatment post-release from incarceration because there are often few opportunities for secure, affordable housing and employment. The Safe and Sound Return Partnership worked with recently released individuals to put them in direct touch with the necessary HIV care, housing, and jobs by creating care and reentry plans.
“Of all the things that I've had to go through, my biggest challenge is finding a place to stay.”
Peer community reengagement specialists contacted people with HIV who had been issued a release date (or those who had recently been released from jail or prison) and connected them to corrections case managers, positions embedded within the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) and connected to the Illinois Department of Corrections and Cook County Jail, who provided case management and reentry services. Drawing from their own experience being in an Illinois jail or prison, these peer specialists engaged with individuals without stigma and shaming.
Collaboration between the corrections case managers and peer reengagement specialists was essential to the success of the Safe and Sound Return Partnership. Case managers conducted discharge planning with referrals to employment, housing, and health care. The peer reengagement specialists helped to recruit individuals into the program, assisted them in following up on their referrals, and supported them in coping with reentry challenges.
Housing and employment program partners were similarly essential to the success of the Safe and Sound Return Partnership. Corrections case managers used intake procedures to identify individuals’ needs and refer them to one of the many housing and employment partners. Due to its broad network of partner organizations, the Safe and Sound Return Partnership was able to offer participants a choice of providers located in multiple geographic areas, and also distribute the administrative burden across several programs.
109 clients were enrolled in the Safe and Sound Return Partnership. These clients had been recently released from jails and prisons, and were reentering Chicago’s South and Westside neighborhoods. Enrolled clients’ housing status, employment status, and HIV medical care data were monitored from May 1, 2018, through March 31, 2020. Evaluation results showed that Safe and Sound Return Partnership had a positive effect on employment, housing, linkage to HIV care, and retention in care.
| Category | Information |
|---|---|
| Evaluation data | Clients’ housing, employment, and medical data |
| Measures | Percentage of clients:
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| Results |
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Source: National Ryan White Conference on HIV Care & Treatment (NRWC) 2020. Transitioning from Jail or Prison to Trauma-Informed HIV Community Services
Hiring peer community reengagement specialists. Hiring and training of peer community reengagement specialists was essential to the Safe and Sound Return Partnership's success. The peer community reengagement specialists had lived experience of both HIV and reentry post-incarceration, and served as role models to recently released individuals. They partnered with corrections case managers to engage individuals in reentry services, and were trained by the AIDS Foundation Chicago on HIV competencies, including confidentiality.
Developing partnerships and building capacity. The Safe and Sound Return Partnership’s successful development of partnerships with housing and employment programs and other community-based organizations created a pool of referrals for the corrections case managers and peer specialists to draw from. The Safe and Sound Return Partnership provided training and workshops to potential partners to build staff capacity and buy-in.
Encouraging stakeholder buy-in. Without the necessary buy-in from partners and staff, even the most well thought out programs struggle to achieve their goals. The Safe and Sound Return Partnership facilitated this buy-in by actively promoting the program and its potential benefits, communicating frequently with partners and staff as the program rolled out, and regularly sharing program successes and challenges and inviting recommendations.
The Safe and Sound Return Partnership was funded as part of the RWHAP SPNS HIV, Housing, and Employment Project. After the SPNS project ended, AIDS Foundation Chicago was able to retain some intervention staffing by drawing upon RWHAP Part B and Gilead funding.
- The importance of data collection. A data collection methodology tracked client outcomes that both demonstrated the Safe and Sound Return Partnership’s success and enabled more efficient allocation of resources. An analysis of the data was disseminated among stakeholders and potential stakeholders to showcase the program’s effectiveness and to build and maintain support for its continued operation.
- Sustainability through integration into normal workflow. Instead of focusing on securing a particular funding source, AIDS Foundation Chicago held discussions on how to integrate the intervention into already-existing workflows and networks of referral partners.
- Safe and Sound Return Partnership Implementation Guide
- AIDS Foundation of Chicago: Re-entry Challenges
- Safe and Sound Return Partnership Multisite Meeting Poster
- Safe and Sound Return Partnership one page summary
- National Ryan White Conference on HIV Care & Treatment (NRWC) 2020: Transitioning from Jail or Prison to Trauma-Informed HIV Community Services