By Ella Shapiro
Growing up in Garfield Park, Zahara Bassett remembers having to frequently travel to the North Side of Chicago to access gender-affirming spaces and receive medical care, food and housing assistance. Despite loving her neighborhood, it was clear to Zahara, as a Black transgender woman, that...
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By Ella Shapiro
For those of us working to end the HIV epidemic it is not news that housing is health care, but perhaps for others that connection is not so obvious.
When you have a house, steady employment and a primary care provider it becomes easy to prioritize your health because your basic needs are...
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By Bailey Williams
CHICAGO -- Today, AIDS Foundation Chicago (AFC) was thrilled to host a private roundtable discussion about open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act with U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, Rep. Lauren Underwood of Naperville, Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) Director Dr. Ngozi...
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On August 20, 2021 Governor JB Pritzker signed the Keeping Youth Safe and Healthy Act, which creates age-appropriate learning standards for public schools that decide to teach comprehensive personal health and safety education (grades K-5) and comprehensive sexual health education (grades 6-12).
“AIDS Foundation Chicago (AFC) thanks Governor Pritzker for signing...
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By Bailey Williams
I n the summer of 2005, party promoters, bar and bathhouse owners, government representatives, community leaders, health providers and Black gay, bisexual and same gender loving men convened at what was formerly the Ramada Inn on 47th Street and South Lakeshore Drive to...
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By Danie Muriello
Everyone in the LGBTQ+ community has a coming-out story. I am a 69 -year-old transwoman, and I’d like to share just the beginning of mine.
A little more than six years ago on a very ordinary Sunday afternoon, I was leisurely reading the paper, something I did almost every Sunday. One of the sections I really liked ...
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By Timothy S. Jackson, AFC Director of Government Relations
With a final gavel at 3:10 a.m., the 102nd Illinois General Assembly adjourned its Spring session on Tuesday, June 1, 2021. B lending the traditional bill debate from legislators on the Senate and House floors with new virtual committee hearings and COVID-19 precautions, the hybrid...
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Today, the Illinois Senate voted to approve House Bill 1063 , which would end criminal penalties against people living with HIV (PLWH). Under current law, PLWH face the threat of arrest, prosecution and incarceration even if they do not transmit HIV to another person. Additionally, PLWH may face longer sentences simply because of their HIV status.
“We are thrilled the Illinois...
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SPRINGFIELD, IL -- Today, the Illinois Senate voted to approve Senate Bill 818, the Keeping Youth Safe and Healthy Act, legislation that will establish the requirements for public and charter schools that decide to teach comprehensive personal health and safety education (grades K-5) and comprehensive sexual health education (grades 6-12) in Illinois.
“Everyday students across Illinois...
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By Ella Shapiro
When you talk to Judy Brown, it is immediately clear that the 69-year-old Chicagoan is passionate about advocating for the people around her. Every day, Judy commits herself to helping others and has been doing so since she and her husband tested positive for HIV in 1993. Judy is an active member of AIDS Foundation Chicago (AFC)’s Ryan White community advisory...
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