The AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) is pleased to announce 18 award recipients of its 2014 Challenge Grants — a legacy program that awards financial support to organizations that are making a difference in the HIV epidemic and the lives of people living with the virus in Illinois. A combined total of $220,000 was awarded among the receiving organizations.
This year, funding was determined...
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Each year, Dec. 1 offers the world an opportunity to ponder the HIV epidemic and remember the millions who have died from HIV-related complications over the last 30 years. On World AIDS Day, people around the globe will take a moment to consider the impact this virus has had on the course of human history — and look ahead to the future and a world without new HIV transmissions.
The...
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Four years ago, AFC was introduced to Scott Christian. In life, Scott has had his fair share of health difficulties. Having endured tuberculosis as a child, it was hard for Scott to hear of his new HIV-positive diagnosis in 2010 — and to hear that his T-cell count was 233, just 33 counts above the threshold for AIDS.
Today, Scott is doing better and lives in Chicago’s South Shore...
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Melanie Paul knows firsthand the challenge of learning about an HIV-positive status when it’s least expected. She knows what it’s like to experience homelessness — to live on the Red Line and friends’ couches. She knows how difficult it is to make sense of a new medical status while wrestling with the stigma of a lifetime of HIV.
And yet, she has an incredible...
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One of the most remarkable things about Lori Kaufman, and there are many, is the strength of her commitment. A Board member of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) since 1989, Kaufman has dedicated 25 years of her life to the fight against HIV/AIDS — and she’s seen it all.
As AFC begins its 30th year of action in 2015, few people are as well equipped to reflect on AFC’s...
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The largest and longest running national coalition of community-based HIV/AIDS organizations, AIDS United (AU), is calling for the scale-up of pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP. AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) is a long-standing member of AU’s Public Policy Committee (PPC) and is a local, national and international leader on new HIV prevention technologies, including PrEP.
PrEP,...
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Despite the immense progress made in the battle to destigmatize HIV and end HIV criminalization laws, the mainstream media is failing to catch up and join the fight. In some cases, the media’s coverage of HIV criminalization becomes the source of stigma.
A new case under an outdated HIV criminalization law in Illinois demonstrates the media’s inability to handle sensitive...
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In-person counselors will focus on connecting HIV-positive, LGBT, homeless Illinoisans to health insurance
For the second year, the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) has been awarded a grant to fund in-person counselors (IPCs) to help individuals enroll for health insurance through the Get Covered Illinois In-Person Counselor Program.
In collaboration with AIDS Legal Council...
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The AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) congratulates Illinois Governor-Elect Bruce Rauner on his victory last night. We and the community of HIV advocates stand ready to assist the governor-elect’s transition team as they plan for the new administration.
HIV and public health are not partisan issues. Every HIV infection averted through strong prevention programs saves the state over...
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TheBodyPro.com ’s Julie Davids interviewed the AIDS Foundation of Chicago’s Director of Prevention Advocacy and Gay Men’s Health Jim Pickett on the first HIV Research for Prevention (HIV R4P) conference , which he is currently attending in Cape Town, South Africa. Read the full interview here .
Jim Pickett is a one-man example of the blurring lines in HIV prevention...
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