Please turn your device to portrait mode.

Chicago Resiliency Network

Political unrest, structural racism, and the weight of the pandemic have exposed many in our society to trauma and toxic stress on a daily basis. These experiences impact the success of individuals and their employers.

As employers struggle to hire and retain the workers they need, businesses have a unique opportunity to both win the war for talent and help employees succeed. To address employees' emotional health and improve performance, organizations are turning to healing-centered practices.

CHALLENGE
Not everyone has a diagnosed mental health condition, but virtually every person has mental or emotional health needs that employers can help address.

70%

of Americans experience a traumatic event
in their lives.

39%

of employees say their manager is equipped to support their mental health.

10m

roles remain open—the highest number
ever reported.

$4

return for each dollar organizations spend
on mental health treatment.

44%

of human resource decision makers believe increased access to mental health services will become a long-term solution for their organizations.
CHALLENGE

Trauma and toxic stress create extraordinary challenges.

70%

of Americans experience a traumatic event in their lives.

39%

of employees say their manager is equipped to support their mental health.

4.3m

people quit their jobs in August 2021.

10m

roles remain open—the highest number ever reported.

$4

Return for each dollar organizations spend on mental health treatment.

Chicagoland residents are particularly hard-hit.

Proximity to violence increases symptoms of trauma.

43%

for those who live within 7.5 blocks of a violent event.

69%

for those who live within 4.5 blocks of a violent event.
Chicago residents are particularly hard-hit.

1 in 5

Chicago residents lives below the poverty line.
Financial distress heightens symptoms of chronic stress and trauma.

270,000

households became food insecure between 2018 and 2020.
Food insecurity heightens symptoms of chronic stress and trauma.

30 years

difference in life expectancy between residents living downtown and those living on Chicago's South Side.

Opportunity

The Chicago Resiliency Network has partnered with Cara Plus and Chicagoland Workforce Funder Alliance (CWFA) to work with employers across the region to create workplaces that are better for employees and better for business. Through our cohort-based program, employers are creating trauma-informed cultures that promote resilience and sustain high performance.

Together, cohort members explore the root causes of trauma and toxic stress and learn the fundamentals of resiliency. Armed with new knowledge and skills, member firms implement training and resiliency practices in ways that suit their businesses. After testing solutions and reflecting on what they've learned, cohort members share insights with one another.

Participants engage in a virtuous cycle of learning, doing, and sharing, with the goal of continuing individual and organizational growth beyond the formal program.

Generation Work™

The Chicago Resiliency Network invites you to join our next cohort by participating in Generation Work.

Generation Work focuses on helping companies interested in hiring, retaining, and advancing young talent, particularly employees of color. Business leaders work alongside experts and other companies to launch a pilot centered around inclusive hiring and building a more resilient workplace. It is designed for companies ready to strengthen their hiring and retention strategies for young adults through an inclusive lens.

Generation Work was launched by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and National Fund in 2016 to explore new ways of connecting youth of color with the knowledge and experience necessary to succeed in today’s job market. The Chicago program is hosted in collaboration with Cara Plus and Chicagoland Workforce Funder Alliance.

To sign up or learn more about joining our next cohort, reach out to Program Director, Marcos Gonzales
Learn More
Learning
Cohort members participate in a learning series twice per month, building skills and a foundational understanding of resilience practices.
Multi User
Unlimited Viewers
Pro Insights
Integrations with Figma, Jira, Dropbox
Whitelabelling
Sharing
Cohort members share their own experiences, challenges, solutions, and resources in meetings and smaller affinity groups to accelerate shared progress.
Multi User
Unlimited Viewers
Pro Insights
Integrations with Figma, Jira, Dropbox
Whitelabelling
Taking Action
Cohort members take action in ways that work for their organization, based on ideas in the learning series, a customized assessment, and a catalog of services and expertise.
Multi User
Unlimited Viewers
Pro Insights
Integrations with Figma, Jira, Dropbox
Whitelabelling
Learn

Group work.
Learn fundamentals of trauma, toxic stress, and resiliency
Build skills that feed and sustain a trauma-informed, resilient culture
Engage with experts in twice-monthly sessions
Take Action

Company-specific work.
Apply knowledge and skills from CRN learning sessions
Develop a measurable pilot focused on the metrics that matter to your company
Implement priority improvement actions
Share

Group work.
Reflect on and document experience
Share experiences, challenges, solutions, and resources in meetings
Network with other business leaders to accelerate your progress
CRN Members
Advent Health
Amazon
AMITA Health
Ann & Robert Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
AT&T
Blommer Chocolate Company
Cara Collective
Chicago Commons
Comcast
ComEd
Discover
Halo Security Group
JPMC
NORC
Northwestern Medicine
Purpose Workforce Solutions
Rush
Sinai Health System
St. Bernards Hospital
UChicago Medicine
United Airlines
Wintrust
IMPACT

Taking care of people is taking care of business—the two rise and fall together.

Employees are empowered to regulate their emotions.
The Resiliency Network promotes learning experiences that help employees know themselves and understand their emotions so they can thrive under pressure.
Employees feel more supported in the workplace.
Organizations that provide a superior employee experience generate 25% higher profits and nearly twice the level of innovation and customer satisfaction.

At the core of CRN learning programs is the idea of difference as strength. In a culture where leaders understand this, employees feel more comfortable asking for and receiving the support they need to thrive at work and in life.
Retention increases.
A culture that supports people with a wide variety of backgrounds and life experiences leads to higher employee retention and performance, while also reducing the cost of turnover.
Productivity increases.
Leaders who complete CRN learning programs motivate teams in effective and sustainable ways. Employees with exposure to resilience practices learn to manage their stress in ways that allow them to consistently move towards short- and long-term goals.