Hey, folks. I, Charles Preston, reporting fellow for City Bureau, would like to tell you all about a magical silver truck that you can find throughout Chicago. My reporting team is investigating the impact of the Illinois budget impasse on mental and behavioral health organizations through the lens of the opioid crisis. Our reporting has led us to Chicago Recovery Alliance, an organization that has been servicing heroin users since 2001.

It’s nearly 12:30 p.m. when a rushed young man drops by the Chicago Recovery Alliance’s parked silver truck in West Garfield Park. He’s turned away for HIV testing, but told to come back next week, but just a bit earlier. The truck can’t be late for its next stop in Austin. If the staff and volunteers don’t show up, addicts might think the program, like others facing budget shortfalls, is unreliable. And that means next time they need clean syringes, they might not come back to the truck.