Springfield, Illinois, Jan. 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On the heels of the 10th anniversary of the National Day of Racial Healing, the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) announced $4.3 million in grant funding for nearly 200 Healing Illinois subgrantees to foster racial and community healing statewide. This initiative, managed in partnership with the Field Foundation, will focus on resilience and highlight stories of how communities overcome challenges and bridge divides.
Since its launch in 2021, Healing Illinois has funded community-driven healing initiatives across Illinois with nonprofits developing community programming and creating infrastructure for long-term healing. In the 2024-2025 grant cycle, Healing Illinois invested more than $4 million in 28 counties, supporting activities that engaged more than 17,000 Illinois residents.
At the heart of Healing Illinois is the belief that every resident can contribute to healing by appreciating the inherent value of all people, respecting one another’s experiences and honoring the histories of Illinois’ diverse communities.
“Healing Illinois shows what’s possible when we invest in communities and residents to bring people together, reckon with our pasts, and work diligently to see one another as neighbors,” said Daniel O. Ash, president of the Field Foundation. “It’s a compelling example of community power building to drive deeper understanding, meaningful connection, and positive change.”
For the 2025-2026 grant cycle, Healing Illinois aims to expand its reach to more than 20,000 people in 30 counties. Subgrantees this year will lead projects to advance healing in three interconnected ways:
- Healing through narrative. Projects that use art, storytelling, history, and creative expression to surface lived experience, elevated voices often unheard, and foster shared understanding.
- Healing through dialogue. Projects that bring people together across race, culture, and geography to build trust through conversation, listening, and facilitated healing spaces.
- Healing through place. Projects that use shared or symbolic spaces to honor history, strengthen belonging, and create opportunities for connection and collective memory.
Healing Illinois will also offer technical assistance support to help subgrantees amplify their work. By elevating stories of local leadership, resilience, and transformation, the initiative seeks to inspire others across Illinois.
“Healing Illinois demonstrates the power of sustained investment in community-driven solutions,” said Caronina Grimble, IDHS Director of the Office of Strategy, Equity and Transformation. “IDHS remains committed to advancing racial healing statewide by supporting community projects, and to ensure the work is supported, connected, and carried forward to take root and endure.”
Since Healing Illinois launched in 2021, over $17 million has been invested to promote racial healing and address racial disparities in communities across Illinois.
To learn more about Healing Illinois, including the 2026 subgrantees, visit healing.illinois.gov.
About IDHS
The Department of Human Services is one of Illinois’ largest agencies, with more than 15,000
employees. Illinois created IDHS in 1997 to provide our state’s residents with streamlined access to integrated services, especially those who are striving to move from welfare to work and economic independence, and others who faced multiple challenges to self-sufficiency. For more information, visit www.dhs.state.il.us.
About the Field Foundation
The Field Foundation is a private and independent foundation that supports community power building through strategic investments in civic infrastructure, the creative sector, local news outlets, and organizers. Through its grantmaking, the foundation collaborates with funding partners to distribute more than $11 million annually to organizations and leaders working in geographic priority areas, with a focus on the city’s South and West Sides. Learn more at www.fieldfoundation.org.
Malik Joseph Healing Illinois 8728957009 mjoseph@ruddresources.net