Human Resources Development Institute

About Human Resources Development Institute

Human Resources Development Institute (HRDI) is a community behavioral health center on Chicago’s South Side that has served underserved neighborhoods since 1974 and now operates as a subsidiary of Friend Health. Dr. C. Vincent Bakeman and Doris M. Lomax founded them partly because the area lacked adequate, culturally appropriate treatment, and that focus on whole-person care still shapes their work today. They address substance use, mental health, and broader community health needs through prevention, intervention, and treatment, using evidence-based and evidence-informed models regardless of a person’s ability to pay. Care ranges from outpatient mental health and substance use services to 24-hour residential treatment for men and women.

Their women’s residential program welcomes pregnant and parenting women and can house up to 10 dependent children ages 0 to 4, which can be a rare option for mothers who don’t want to be separated from their young kids. They also run separate 24-hour supervised residential placements for men and women facing mental health challenges, though these require participation in an HRDI program and depend on availability. Beyond residential care, they offer crisis services, screening and diagnostic assessment, treatment planning, targeted case management, psychiatric rehabilitation, peer and family support, primary care screening and monitoring, and community-based mental health care for veterans. Walk-in services are available without an appointment, and a recreational and recovery drop-in center provides added community support.