The Opioid Learning and Response Collaborative (OLRC) is hosting its next Regional Networking Event on June 4, 2026 in Chicago, IL. This event will bring together professionals working in prevention, harm reduction, and street outreach to build connections and break down silos.
Attendees will hear presentations from the West Side Heroin Opioid Taskforce. West Side will provide a presentation entitled “Addressing the Opioid Overdose Epidemic on the Westside of Chicago through Stakeholder Engagement and Peer-led Street Outreach” led by Fanya Burford-Berry, Richard Vargas, and members of the street outreach team. This presentation will use a didactic and interactive demonstration format to convey our real-world implementation of a peer-led services model overdose prevention street outreach program. The West Side Heroin Opioid Task Force is a community collaboration with the mission to reduce overdoses in Chicago’s West side communities of Austin, East and West Garfield, North Lawndale and Humboldt Park. Prevention Partnership Inc., serves as the coordinating agency.
Phoenix Recovery Support Services will also provide a presentation that explores the evolving role of recovery housing within Illinois’ recovery support continuum, highlighting practical approaches to low-barrier housing, social model recovery, Medication-Assisted Recovery (MAR) integration, workforce development, and community collaboration. Attendees will learn how Phoenix Recovery Support Services has expanded access to recovery housing while balancing accountability, engagement, and long-term recovery support. The session will also introduce upcoming statewide webinars and open forum initiatives focused on recovery housing education, partnership development, and systems improvement.
Prevention First will present about the OLRC (mission, background, and purpose), provide a tutorial on the new OLRC website and resource hub, and introduce upcoming events and opportunities. Attendees will leave having learned of a new resource to utilize and how OLRC can be a support for professionals and communities across Illinois.
This event is open to all interested parties, with a focus on individuals with lived experience, those who supervise PLEs, and direct service workers.