The Illinois Institute of Technology has established the Center for Health Equity, Education, and Research (CHEER) to tackle health care disparities. Officially launched in March 2024, CHEER consolidates five existing programs under one umbrella, all focused on health equity. The center aims to address various aspects of health care disparities, particularly in mental health, by leveraging the expertise of more than a dozen Illinois Tech faculty members.
CHEER’s director, Distinguished Professor of Psychology Patrick Corrigan, emphasized the center’s focus on serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and PTSD. These conditions often prevent individuals from achieving life goals, securing employment, or completing education.
The center’s programs include the Chicago Health Disparities Center, the National Consortium of Stigma and Empowerment, the Honest, Open, Proud program, Stigma and Health, and the Certificate for Recovery Support Specialist. This nine-credit certificate program is designed for nontraditional students with lived experience of mental illness or substance abuse, enabling them to provide community services.
Assistant Professor of Psychology Lindsay Sheehan, who also serves as CHEER’s managing director, highlighted the collaborative nature of the center. “As we’re putting together this center and talking with folks, we’re getting to know one another and where our priorities in terms of health may overlap,” Sheehan said.
The center is funded by over a dozen grants and contracts, totaling more than $4 million for 2024, and partners with institutions throughout Chicago and beyond to improve access to mental health care.
See “A Community to Help: New Research Center to Tackle Health Care Disparities” by Tom Linder on the Illinois Tech website (April 15, 2024)