TASC Launches Overdose Initiative to Mark 50th Anniversary Linking Health and Justice in Chicago

Treatment Alternatives for Stronger Communities rolls out a new program at a June 16 press conference, expanding proactive approach to behavioral health and community safety.

• Date: Tuesday, June 16, 2026  
• Time: Media check-in begins at 8:30 a.m. CDT; Remarks begin promptly at 9:00 a.m. CDT
• Location: TASC Headquarters, 700 S. Clinton St., Chicago, IL 60607  
• Interview Opportunities: On-site interviews with TASC leadership and VIP speakers immediately following the remarks. 

CHICAGO, June 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- For 50 years, the American justice system has treated a raging public health crisis with handcuffs, cages and bureaucracy. Today, TASC declares an end to this punitive era, announcing a mobilization to reclaim communities from a broken legal pipeline.

To mark its 50th anniversary, TASC will host a press event at its Chicago headquarters to unveil a new identity and a frontline initiative designed to tackle Illinois' most pressing justice and health crises. Leadership will be joined by top state and local officials, including Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, U.S. Representative Danny K. Davis, Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch, and Illinois Chief Behavioral Health Officer Dr. Inger Burnett-Zeigler.

At the event, TASC will detail its march onto a critical battlefield: In response to the ongoing overdose crisis, TASC, the Chicago Department of Public Health, Chicago Recovery Alliance, The Puerto Rico Project, and the South Side Heroin/Opioid Task Force are launching a coordinated overdose prevention campaign across Chicago's South Side. Beginning June 23, the initiative will provide practical overdose prevention education and expand access to life-saving resources, including naloxone kits and test strips to identify adulterants, with a focus on reaching individuals at highest risk of overdose and connecting them to support—especially during the dangerous 72-hour window following a release from jail or treatment. The initiative is funded by a grant from the Illinois Department of Human Services Division of Behavioral Health & Recovery.

A New Name and Proven Data Outcomes

Signaling its evolution from a compliance model for safe communities, the organization has formally changed its name to Treatment Alternatives for Stronger Communities. 

"For 50 years, TASC has stood in the gap, helping people navigate deep-end systems and find a path toward recovery, stability, and community," said Joel K. Johnson, chief executive officer of TASC. "Our new name reflects what we have learned through this work: Stronger communities are built when people can access treatment, support, and real opportunity instead of falling deeper into systems that were never designed to help them heal."

At the core of this proactive overhaul is TASC's Specialized Case Management™ model, a highly skilled human infrastructure that navigates complex legal and medical networks where other approaches get stuck. The model integrates personalized substance use and behavioral health treatment, pre-arrest deflection, reentry support, and system accountability. This deep integration produces remarkable outcomes: 

• TASC elevates substance use treatment completion rates to 66%, a substantial increase over the state average of 49%. 
  
  
• TASC and community-based substance use treatment cost an average of $4,200 per participant, saving millions in taxpayer funds compared to the $30,000 to $45,000 estimated cost for one year of prison. 

"A long-time advocate for public health and alternatives to incarceration, I have led efforts to reform pillars of Illinois government, including criminal justice, education and workforce development, economic access, equity, and opportunity, and health care and human services," said Illinois Senate Assistant Majority Leader Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago), convener of the Southside Heroin and Opioid Task Force. "TASC has helped thousands of people change the course of their lives. Everyone deserves a second chance. TASC supports people in their most vulnerable moments interacting with police, courts, emergency rooms and shelters. For five decades, TASC has held to a redemptive, people-centered vision rooted in dignity, recovery and resilience."

A community support system provides the essential link in assuring personal responsibility, making the criminal justice system function as intended. When people fail to appear or follow through on court orders, law enforcement again assumes the cost of securing warrants, arrest and pretrial incarceration. With ongoing check‑ins, warm hand‑offs to treatment and recovery services, court date reminders and problem solving around crises, TASC interrupts a cycle of personal and community instability.

"TASC acts as a trusted, non-judgmental intermediary so that people can succeed in alternatives to incarceration and supportive reentry services. Our collaboration has reduced the burden on courts and jails and made our communities stronger," said Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle."

This operational expertise also fuels TASC's national and international consulting and technical assistance division, the Center for Health and Justice (CHJ). While TASC delivers restorative impact on the ground in Illinois, CHJ acts as its systems-change engine. CHJ translates Illinois' frontline practice into global policy, training, and implementation support, transforming public safety and public health systems at scale.

"This milestone is an incredible achievement for TASC and all the people it has supported over the past 50 years," said Dulce M. Quintero, Secretary of the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS). "Behavioral health is a critical component of community well-being. For decades before it became standard practice, TASC has worked across the silos of behavioral health services and community support. As these services continue to evolve, we know TASC will be there producing better health outcomes for Illinois communities."

About TASC

Treatment Alternatives for Stronger Communities (TASC) is a recognized health-justice integrator providing comprehensive, wraparound services for individuals and families navigating the criminal legal, child welfare, and healthcare systems. Beyond providing direct community care across Illinois, TASC drives national and global systemic change through its Center for Health and Justice (CHJ), which currently drives system-mapping, consulting, and training across 48 states and over 1,600 U.S. communities. Learn more at tasc.org.

Media Contact:
Allie Kuopus
Purpose Brand
[email protected]
262-957-6020

SOURCE Treatment Alternatives for Stronger Communities