Learn more about the racial healing projects happening around the state of Illinois.
Announcement: Healing Illinois projects run from January-June 2027
What is Healing Illinois?
Healing Illinois is a racial healing initiative of the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) and the Field Foundation of Illinois. It will provide up to $4.5 million in grants to organizations across the state to begin, or continue, the work of racial healing.
The major goals of this project are to:
Bringing people together across differences–race, culture, generation, and geography–to build trusted relationships, foster understanding, and strengthen communities .
Holding space for community reflection and shared belonging–where stories are told, histories are honored, and people feel seen, heard, and connected to one another and to the communities they share.
Building communities where people show up for each other, and in doing so, renew the democratic bonds that hold us together.
Healing Illinois was designed to support communities across Illinois to begin or continue the work of racial healing in their communities.
The ongoing oppressive and structural tactics that uphold systemic racism and inequities highlight the need for racial healing, and the need to address the underlying systems that have created the conditions where vast racial disparities are allowed to exist.
As we move ahead with the work of systemic change, we must also lay the groundwork for community healing, acknowledging the harm done to communities of color and providing the space for healing. Healing Illinois represents one step in that process, promoting racial healing for everyone, and advancing racial equity in Illinois.
If you have any questions about the Healing Illinois initiative, please view our reach out to [email protected]
Healing Illinois Regions
Racial healing projects are separated into 5 regions to ensure the fair funding of events and trainings all around the state. Click the plus sign to see which counties fall within a specific region.
Counties and sub-grantees by region
About IDHS and Field Foundation
The Department of Human Services (IDHS) is one of Illinois' largest agencies, with more than 13,000 employees.
The Illinois Department of Human Services was created in 1997 to provide our state's residents with streamlined access to integrated services, especially those who are striving for economic independence, and others who face multiple challenges to self-sufficiency.
The Field Foundation of Illinois is a private and independent foundation that, along with its strategic partners, distributes more than $10 million annually to organizations and leaders working to address systemic issues in historically marginalized areas of Chicago.
To support community power building, the Field Foundation invests in Chicago’s civic infrastructure, creative sector, local news outlets, and organizers.