Testimony to the Chicago City Council, Health Committee

Karen A. Reitan, Director of State Affairs
AIDS Foundation of Chicago
July 9, 2002

Good morning, my name is Karen Reitan, and I'm the Director of State Affairs for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago. I am grateful for the opportunity to speak today and applaud the Health Committee for convening this hearing on the impact of the AIDS epidemic in Chicago. I hope that it is the first of many.

The AIDS Foundation of Chicago - or AFC - is the Midwest's largest source of private philanthropic support for AIDS services. Each year, we raise and give away $1 million to community-based-organizations to support HIV prevention and AIDS care programs throughout the Chicago-metropolitan region. Additionally, we engage legislators at the local, state, and federal levels to encourage public policy that is responsive to the needs of people living with and at risk for HIV. Finally, we are the lead agency for approximately $11 million in federal funding that is used to provide case management, housing and other supportive services to people living with AIDS in Chicago, suburban Cook and the collar counties. Through our case management cooperative, we connect nearly 6,000 people living with HIV to critically needed medical and social services. Our program, known nationwide as the "Chicago Model," has been promoted by the federal Human Resources Services Administration as a best practice in the field, and would not be possible without the strong support from and partnership with the Chicago Department of Public Health.

We have begun the third decade of AIDS on the foundation of many successes and with many challenges ahead. We celebrate the ever-increasing array of drug therapies to treat HIV infection, and yet, we cannot give them to all in need. We take heart in the growing body of knowledge and research that informs HIV prevention services, but we do not have adequate funding to provide them. We congratulate policy makers who are committed to ending this epidemic, and we share their frustration when politics and other priorities are prioritized over sound public health policy. And so it is with excitement and hope that we have come today to ask you to join us in the fight against AIDS.

The Chicago City Council should be leading the charge to end AIDS in our city, and as aldermen, you are uniquely positioned to direct attention and resources to this issue.

As appropriators, you have the power to ensure that AIDS services are adequately funded throughout Chicago. Despite the increasingly challenging economic forecast, people living with and at risk for HIV will continue to need care and prevention services that, unfortunately, cost money. The need for increased funding, particularly for HIV prevention, has never been more urgent. It is estimated that one-third of all people currently living with HIV do not know that they are infected - one-third - these individuals need outreach and education to bring them into HIV counseling and testing services, into prevention and education programs, and into a health care delivery system that could, quite literally, save their lives.

Last month Governor Ryan vetoed $2.25 million in state funds for HIV prevention in communities of color. The result is that 18 programs throughout Illinois, including six here in Chicago, will have to find new funds or cease their operations, and that more people will become infected with the virus. This cut comes at a time when the CDC reports that, among young urban men living with HIV, 77% do not know that they are infected. When looking at specific populations, the study found that 90% of African-American, 70% of Latino, and 60% of white MSMs currently infected are unaware that they have the virus. Prevention programs are desperately needed to address these issues and public funding must be increased if we are to turn the tide against the epidemic.

As public servants, you have the authority to advocate for your communities. We applaud Mayor Daley for his recent call to the US Conference of Mayors to prioritize affordable housing and we urge you to support his endeavors to increase housing in Chicago. Stable housing is a critical component of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. People living with HIV, many of whom are poor and on the constant edge of homelessness, need a place to store their medications, a kitchen to prepare healthy meals, and a base of operations from which to tackle their health care needs. A place to live provides all of these things, and we urge the City Council to show strong leadership on this issue.

Your voice is also critically important on the state and federal level. Strong advocacy from cities hit hard by AIDS will lend strong support to grassroots AIDS advocates working to ensure adequate funding. Chicago depends on its federal and state appropriations to maintain the network of HIV prevention and care providers throughout the city, and we urge you to join us in our work to maintain these funds by communicating the importance of these programs to your own federal and state representatives. By all estimates, the number of HIV infections in Chicago will only continue to grow, and without additional resources, the current system of care will not be able to absorb the increase.

Finally, as community leaders, you have a bully pulpit from which to issue a call to arms. One barrier to ending AIDS in Chicago is the stigma associated with the disease. The perpetuation of shame and censure only serves to further isolate individuals infected and affected by HIV and hampers service delivery. As aldermen, you can change this just by speaking out. Showing support for the fight against AIDS can include wearing a red ribbon, gathering friends to join you in the AIDS Run & Walk Chicago on September 29, or hosting a health fair that includes information on and testing for HIV/AIDS. Every time you talk about AIDS, whether it is in a speech, at a meeting with community leaders in your ward, or in a letter to the editor of a neighborhood newspaper, you will make a difference. Included with the materials handed out today is a list of 10 things an alderman can do to fight AIDS, and we stand ready to assist you in implementing any or all of them.

This week, the eyes of the world are turned to Barcelona and 14th international conference on AIDS. Throughout the week there will be countless stories on the impact of the epidemic. We will hear that new medications continue to be developed, that world leaders will increase their country's contribution to the global AIDS fund and that, by 2010, an additional 45 million people worldwide will become infected with HIV. The Chicago Department of Public Health estimates that each year, approximately 1,500 of these new infections will occur in Chicago. This is 1,500 too many.

Today we stand on the precipice, looking out on two potential futures. One in which we stand by while more and more people get infected and die, or one in which we throw ourselves deeper into the fray and commit to providing the resources and support needed to end this epidemic. I am here today to thank you for your support and leadership and to invite you - as individuals and as the entire City Council - to join us recommit with the AIDS Foundation of Chicago to ending this epidemic in Chicago and throughout the world.