RoA Microgrant Awardee Francia Hernandez - 2024

This morning, we want to celebrate some reporting with you – one reported by a winner of our 2024 Reporting on Addiction Microgrant!

Francia Hernandez is a bilingual reporter living and working in the city of Chicago, who has spent the past two years covering Latino and Black communities. With her microgrant, she focused specifically on covering harm reduction work on Chicago's West Side. In her story "How A West Side Group Is Helping Prevent Overdose Deaths And Boost Treatment For Substance Use," Francia follows workers who are distributing Narcan, fentanyl test strips and treatment information in neighborhoods with some of the city's highest rates of overdose emergency calls.  

Francia graciously agreed to share some reporting insights with us to share with you! 

What drew you to telling this particular story? 

"I wanted to share the story of the people who are working to address substance use in a community that has historically been affected by drug use. Most reporting focuses on the problem, not the solution. Secondly, there is a need to understand how recovery is not a one-step process, nor is treatment always accessible. I hope my story can help readers understand the complicated reality of substance use."

What did you learn from the process of reporting this story? 

"To understand context, however complicated. I had to listen more, ask more and different questions and continuously self-reflect on my biases."

How did the microgrant from Reporting on Addiction support your work?

"Without the microgrant, I would not have been able to join the featured group several times over the course of several weeks. This time allowed me to observe how this group works, build relationships with sources, and understand the context in which they operate. Without this grant, I would not have been able to speak to as many sources as I did, and though they did not all make it in the story, they were fundamental to contextualizing."

Make sure you give Francia's story a read on the Chicago Block Club's website here.