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Mental health and crisis support Illinois Call4Calm Text Line (24/7)

If you or a loved one are struggling with stress related to the COVID-19 pandemic and need emotional support, text TALK to 552020 for English or HABLAR for Spanish (Message and Data Rates May Apply. See Terms and Conditions of Use). People seeking assistance remain anonymous and provide only their first name and ZIP code, which enables the service to link them to a counselor in the area who is knowledgeable about available local resources.

Illinois Warm Line

If you or one of you family members has mental health and/or substance use challenges and would like to receive support by phone, call the Illinois Warm Line at 866-359-7953. Wellness support specialists are professionals who have experienced mental health and/or substance use recovery in their own lives.

They are trained in recovery support, mentoring, and advocacy and are ready to listen and support you. The Illinois Warm Line is not a crisis hotline but is a source of support as you recover or help a family member to recover. Illinois Warm Line hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., except holidays.

Chicago’s own Timuel D. Black turns 102 on Monday, December 7! A special drive- by parade is being organized as a birthday salute for Tim, our Chicago treasure: veteran, social scientist and political activist, scholar, teacher, civil rights leader, jazz enthusiast. Participants and supporters will include Tim’s neighbors and friends, colleagues and comrades, members of the academy and the community, students and residents from the South Side and across the city.

This COVID-19 conscious event is sponsored by:

o The Timuel D. Black Educational Foundation

o The Civic Knowledge Project; The University of Chicago o The University of Chicago Alumni Association

All are welcome, everyone is requested to wear a mask, and to watch for proper distancing when we gather. Since this is a gathering of cars, good social distancing is a built-in provision.

Monday, December 7:

12:45 – 1:15 p.m. Birthday balloons, cards and flowers will be collected at the 49th Street corner of Drexel Parkway.1:00 p.m. Cars assemble at 50th and Drexel - in front of Operation PUSH
1:15 p.m. Cars depart to circle 3 times by 49th and Drexel

CHICAGO – Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot, the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH), and the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) today launched a new citywide strategy - “Protect Chicago” - an effort to help Chicago bend the COVID-19 curve for the second time. This strategy calls on all Chicagoans to change their behavior through targeted regulations, strong messaging, and a community-based outreach strategy. If changes are not made by Chicago residents, businesses, and visitors to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the city is on track to lose 1,000 more Chicagoans by the end of the year or even more.

“Chicago has reached a critical point in the second surge of COVID-19, demanding that we undertake this multi-faceted and comprehensive effort to stop the virus in its tracks,” said Mayor Lightfoot. “The gains we have made this past year have been the result of our willingness to work together. Even in this difficult moment, we will continue to unite as we always have for our city in order to halt the rise we’re seeing, shake out of the fatigue we’ve been experiencing, and make the crucial difference in what our future is going to look like.”