CHICAGO (WLS) — Haymarket Center was founded here in Chicago in 1975. The founders understood that addiction is a disease. Monsignor Ignatius McDermott and Doctor James West called for treatment instead of criminalization.
More than 50 years later, the center is still helping people with dealing with substance abuse.
ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch
Dr. Dan Lustig is the President and CEO.
“Haymarket Center, first, is Chicago’s largest, comprehensive treatment facility. So, we treat individuals that have a substance abuse disorder, a mental health condition, as well as primary care issues that they present at the agency,” Dr. Lustig said. “So, we are really the most comprehensive agency that is open 24 hours a day, 365 days to meet the needs of anyone that needs it.”
He says when a person arrives, they begin with an assessment process to determine what the client needs most urgently and what the treatment plan should be. And Lustig says, the client gets immediate access to care.
For more than 50 years, Haymarket Center has helped people struggling with addiction.
Kenyatta Cathey, is the chief clinical officer at Haymarket Center.
“Unfortunately we still live in a time where stigma prevails,” Cathey said. “There is a belief that this is a choice that the person is making. They’re not looking at this as a disease. We’re not looking at these individuals as humans that need the same love and compassion that you would have for a family member with a primary medical health condition. And I think that is one thing that we have learned, that we need to treat this situation as a disease.”
For those seeking help and wanting to know they’re in the right place, Cathey says, “We have no wrong doors. As soon as you walk into our facility, we’re looking at this person as the whole person. We’re looking at their primary health condition, we’re looking at their behavioral health condition, and any physical health conditions they may have. And we believe that you should treat all three conditions simultaneously, because if you don’t, there’s going to be a relapse to the other. “
Over the 50 years since Haymarket’s founding, treatments have changed and improved.
“We’ve come a very long way. There’s many pharmaceutical medications out there that help people not just deal with cravings, but also it’s a biologic they can have on a monthly basis that really helps them to manage that craving or desire to use,” Cathey said.
For more than 50 years, Haymarket Center has helped people struggling with addiction.
Antoine High and Melinda McMichael work at Haymarket Center, and both were previously clients.
McMichael says she had a ten plus year substance use history. And she says she was in and out of the criminal justice system for many years.
“And I got to a place in my life where I was so desperate for help,” McMichael said. “I was tired of hurting the people around me, my family, my children. Breaking promises and just going through pain. And I really wanted the help to learn how to stay sober and to get my life back.”
High says he found himself “broken, in and out of the jail system. In and out of abandoned buildings, being an open shame to my family. “
At point he was given a choice, go to jail or get help. And that’s how he wound up at Haymarket Center.
“They gave me an opportunity to have a job,” McMichael said. “And that really, really motivated me to help me build my confidence and get back in the community. I was able to get my son back, from the Department of Children and Family Services. It was not easy, but I could not do it alone. The help offered at Haymarket Center is so unique, and so strategically crafted to help all people in this community.”
For more information on the Haymarket Center gala: https://haymarketcenter.org/gala/
Copyright © 2026 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.