Heartland Alliance Health to close clinics, food pantries
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Thousands of the neediest in Chicago are about to be scrambling to find food and medical care, with a nonprofit with locations on both the North and South sides about to shut down.
Heartland Alliance Health, once part of a prominent social service organization in Chicago, announced this week that it will be closing its doors.
The organization's two clinics — one at Englewood at 5501 S. Halsted St., the other in Uptown at 4009 N. Broadway — will shutter at the end of the month. The organization's three food pantries are also closing.
More than 100 workers were left blindsided, and more than 8,000 community members who rely on the services provided by Heartland Alliance Health are scrambling.
"Employees are angry," said Heartland Alliance Worker Union chair Michael Brieschke. "They're frustrated. They are heartbroken."
Brieschke said the decision not only puts workers in limbo, but serves a devastating blow to clients — most of whom are unhoused and among the most vulnerable in the city.
"It includes people who may have physical health, mental health, or substance abuse concerns," Brieschke said. "You know, people who grew up in poverty and have not been able to get out of that cycle."
The apparent culprit, Brieschke said, is looming financial issues for the organization that have worsened in the last two years.
It was less than a year ago that the parent group of the nonprofit, Heartland Alliance, split up into four separate entities as a cost saving measure.
"They did try to seek out private funding from donors and grants, but it was just not enough," Brieschke said.
While the nonprofit has not officially disclosed the reason behind the sudden shutdown, its website is now encouraging clients to turn to other federally-funded agencies in Cook County.
The two Heartland Alliance health clinics will officially close on Wednesday, Feb. 26, while their affiliated pantries will shut down on Saturday, Feb. 22.
Editor's note: Heartland Alliance Health announced Wednesday, Feb. 19, that its clinics and all its other facilities will remain open, following a multimillion-dollar grant from the organization OneHealth.
