UPTOWN — Heartland Alliance Health, a former branch of the behemoth social service network Heartland Alliance, is shutting down.
The community health care nonprofit will close its Uptown and Englewood clinics and its three food pantries by April 7, said Michael Brieschke, chair of the union representing many of the group’s workers. Brieschke said the union was notified about the impending closure during a meeting last Wednesday.
In a statement, Heartland Alliance Health’s Chief Operating Officer Christina Martinez confirmed the nonprofit is shuttering.
“Unfortunately, after extensive efforts, [Heartland Alliance Health] has determined that it no longer has a sustainable path forward and must wind down operations,” Martinez wrote. “HAH is extraordinarily grateful for the staff, participants and partners who supported the organization for the past 40 years. HAH will continue to work closely with funders, community providers, and government partners while winding down operations with a focus on lessening the impact on its vulnerable population and staff.”
The clinics at 4009 N. Broadway and 5501 S. Halsted St. are no longer taking new appointments for patients and are directing people to other federally qualified health centers or clinics, according to Heartland’s website. After Block Club Chicago reached out, the nonprofit announced its closure on its website.
There are 113 staff members at Heartland Alliance Health who will lose their jobs as a result of the organization shutting down, 50 of whom are in the union, Brieschke said. Between the low-cost clinics and the food pantries, the organization serves about 8,000 people a year, he said.
“This leaves a really big hole in the community, particularly for health care,” Brieschke said. “There’s already a lack of health care services for low-income communities.”
Brieschke said he was told the closure stems from financial issues, which he said had “been brewing for at least the last year and a half.” In 2023, before the group split from Heartland Alliance to become its own nonprofit, Brieschke said a “substantial” number of employees had to be furloughed as a result. Some were brought back a couple months later, but others were laid off, he said.
Martinez and Mary Kay Gilbert, interim executive director of Heartland Alliance Health, didn’t respond to Block Club’s questions about the reasons for the nonprofit’s closure, its financial state or its timeline for shutting down.
Last year, Heartland Alliance leadership told the Chicago Tribune previous financial issues were caused by staff vacancies, rising health costs after the COVID-19 pandemic, shelters being strained from the surge in migrants arriving in Chicago and large upfront costs involved in contracts with agencies such as the Chicago Department of Public Health.
It’s unclear if those same reasons are behind Heartland Alliance Health’s current financial struggles.
Heartland Alliance, a Chicago-based social service organization with roots dating back to progressive reformer Jane Addams in 1888, faced significant challenges in the past few years of its existence.
In 2023, the organization dissolved its housing arm, Heartland Housing, also because of financial woes. Fourteen affordable housing properties were placed under receivership after Heartland Alliance failed to pay utility and trash bills, address building code violations and secure property insurance.
In April 2024, Heartland Alliance announced its remaining divisions would become independent entities to improve their viability. As of July 1, Heartland Alliance Health became its own nonprofit. Heartland Human Care Services, Heartland Alliance International and the National Immigrant Justice Center are also former Heartland Alliance divisions that became separate nonprofits.
The timeline for when each Heartland Alliance Health clinic and food pantry will close is still unclear, Brieschke said. He said he was told it would be a “gradual” and “incremental” shutdown until April 7.
Ellen Meyers, a frequent donor to the Heartland Alliance Health food pantry at 5543 N. Broadway in Edgewater, said its closure will be a devastating loss to the community. Meyers said she had been a regular volunteer at the pantry since it opened in 1988 until about six years ago. Heartland Alliance Health also operates food pantries at 4121 W. Lake St. in Garfield Park and 151 W. 75th St. in Greater Grand Crossing.
Also known as GroceryLand, the Edgewater pantry was founded to help people living with HIV or AIDS, but has grown to become a resource for anyone who needs it, Meyers said. People are able to get nutritious food as well as basic goods that can’t be bought with food stamps, such as toilet paper, laundry detergent and pet food, she said.
“That’s what GroceryLand is: It’s a non-judgmental, human contact for people,” Meyers said. “There is no discussion of like, ‘Why are you here?’ You know why you’re there.”
With the impending closure of Heartland Alliance Health, Meyers said she’s worried about where pantry customers will go, considering food pantries across the city have seen increased need over the past few years, on top of bracing for potential interruptions in federal funding implemented by President Donald Trump’s administration.
Other Former Heartland Alliance Divisions Affected By Fed Funding Suspension
Other former Heartland Alliance divisions are also facing challenges.
Heartland Alliance International furloughed more than 90 percent of its staff and suspended many of its larger contracts due to the ongoing suspension of foreign aid, Chief Operating Officer Rebecca Obrock said last week on LinkedIn.
Obrock didn’t respond to a request for comment from Block Club about the nonprofit’s viability.
Brieschke, chair of the union that also includes employees from Heartland Alliance International, said 16 union employees in Chicago who work with the group’s Marjorie Kovler Center were furloughed but brought back to work after the group found additional funding.
Heartland Human Care Services officials told Block Club the nonprofit recently experienced a funding pause but hasn’t needed to furlough staff.
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