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The Chicago Arts & Health Pilot for Creative Workers is funded by American Rescue Plan coronavirus funds and a grant from FGC, a national funder of community projects. It is also supported by One Nation One Project, a national arts and health initiative taking place in nine cities and towns in the United States.

Through this pilot program, Chicago will join cities like Providence, Rhode Island

“There has been a lot of work and research, not just nationally but internationally with the idea of social prescription,” McNeal said. Through social prescription, mental health clinicians prescribe creative activities to help support their patients’ wellness goals.

Artists selected for the apprenticeship program will be awarded $66,000 to participate in a full-time year-long training program from Fall 2023 through late fall of 2024. The apprenticeship program includes a certification as a community health worker at Malcolm X Colle ge, where they will also be trained in mental health first aid and overdose prevention. They will also get practical experience through on-the-job training at one of the five mental health clinics run by the city of Chicago. The award covers the artist’s salary and benefits. In addition, they receive a fully funded tuition package from City Colleges of Chicago that covers tuition, books and stipends and a $10,000 budget for materials and supplies to support their programming at mental health clinics. As part of the pilot program, they will have access to mentorship and participation in One Nation One Project creative public events taking place in July 2024.

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Treasurer Nile Wendorf artists into short-term community health residencies at community-based organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It became a really important model for us in Chicago to think about what we can create that will bring artists into community healthcare centers and offer creative services as an intervention,” McNeal said, adding the city’s pilot was designed with input from local mental health clinicians, the Chicago Mental Health Board,

The pilot program is also inspired by data and research that shows the effects of arts in mental health and wellness.

To be eligible, artists must meet at least one of three requirements: live in qualifying community areas including low to moderate income communities or qualified census tracts, have an annual household income that does not exceed the low to moderate income limits for the Chicago Metro area or have evidence that can demonstrate they were a dislocated worker between March 2020 and December 2021. Other requirements apply. Experience in mental health or community health is not required, yet it is welcomed.

Applications close June 22. For more information about eligibility, visit the Department of Cultural Af fairs and Special Events website.

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