Mayor Lori Lightfoot has repeatedly said she’s not in favor of defunding the Chicago Police Department, but with position reductions, budget cuts and investments in a new pilot program, the city may be rethinking the way policing will work.

A pandemic, civil unrest and an increase in violence. How community organizations in Greater Grand Crossing are helping young people cope with adversity.

Chicago officials on Tuesday announced $8 million in grants for expanded mental health care services across the city, including for some of Chicago’s most vulnerable residents: those experiencing homelessness.

The funds will allow “tens of thousands more patients served, better access to care for the underserved and integrated care for the whole person,” officials said.

The COVID-19 pandemic brings with it a host of related mental health issues for many people, such as increased stress and anxiety. Seasonal depression could soon be another problem facing Chicagoans.

Following one of Chicago’s most violent summers in recent history, officials and advocates are stressing the importance of mental health care for victims of violence and their families — but access to those services can be difficult.

A majority of Americans ages 18 through 34 say they've sometimes felt isolated in the past month, compared with about 4 in 10 older Americans, according to a new COVID Response Tracking Study conducted at the University of Chicago.

Developed by the University of Chicago Crime and Education Lab, the system is designed to provide officers with the support they need before they harm themselves or others. A pilot program began Tuesday and will expand citywide over the next year.

Mental health therapists’ caseloads are bulging. Waiting lists for appointments are growing. And anxiety and depression are rising among Americans amid the coronavirus crisis, research suggests. 

More African Americans in Cook County have died by suicide this year than during all of 2019, with a notable increase among young people, according to county officials. “This is horrifying,” Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said.

On Tuesday, a high-ranking chief in the Chicago Police Department is believed to have committed suicide — and research shows the suicide rate for Chicago officers is higher than the national average.

Dr. Emily Landon is one of the city’s preeminent experts on the coronavirus, which has dominated her life for the past six months. To unwind, Landon makes her own soap – a hobby she started years ago.

While the Chicago Police Department is increasing its community policing efforts, a new behavioral health task force on the West Side is convening to address trauma as a root cause of violence.

Health experts have warned of a looming mental health crisis linked to the coronavirus outbreak, and the federal government rolled out a broad anti-suicide campaign. But doctors and researchers say the issues reverberate deeper among Black people.

“You deserve to be happy.” That’s the message artist Myron Laban believes people really need to hear in the midst of today’s uncertainties. We check out one of his latest murals on Chicago’s West Side.

As the city mourns victims of gun violence, we talk with Charles Woodhouse Jr., a survivor calling for healing.