Today, the Chicago City Council approved an amendment to remove a provision in the Chicago Human Rights Ordinance (HRO) that requires patrons to show a government-issued ID upon request to access public accommodations that are private in nature, including bathrooms.
“We applaud the City Council’s action today. Removing the discriminatory language towards transgender...
Read more...
by Mirhanda Alewine
The AIDS Foundation of Chicago's Corrections Case Management program aims to support detainees living with HIV as they transition from incarceration, providing them with case managers to help connect them to care and housing. Darlene Davis divulges her experiences with incarceration and HIV, explaining the impact of her corrections case manager.
What does...
Read more...
by Malary Gregory
Kasey White is a student and advocate for homeless youth in Chicago, specifically those who identify with the LGBTQ community. She has been featured in the documentary Homestretch, which followed three homeless youth living in Chicago as they navigated completing high school and building their futures. In 2014, she was awarded with the Windy City Times’ 30 Under...
Read more...
Thousands are expected to attend this year’s Pride at Montrose event on Sunday, June 26 from 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. on Cricket Hill near Montrose Harbor.
This year, Chicago Black Gay Men’s Caucus, Brother’s Health Collective, Affinity Community Services, and Black Treatment Advocates Network, in partnership with AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC)’s...
Read more...
by Eryn MacNeil
The apartment is dimly lit, but spacious. There isn’t much decoration, but it’s well-kept. It’s a short walk up in a neat brick building on a tree-lined street. Today, the shades are drawn, but on the weekends the apartment is filled with children. Jeanette Thomas spent several years being homeless, battling addiction, and was recently diagnosed with breast...
Read more...
by Eryn MacNeil
If you’re a young woman who has experienced hiring discrimination and a lack of resources, it would be easy to give up. Instead, Meghan Williams has turned her past experiences into a way to help others.
As a 21-year-old transgender woman, she works with AFC’s Project Elevate, a peer-led STI prevention campaign, on its Youth Expert Advisory Board,...
Read more...
by Jasmine Tucker, AFC Associate Board Co-chair and HIV advocate
As I was riding the Pink Line to 200 W. Jackson Blvd at 5 a.m., I had no clue what HIV Advocacy Day was going to bring. I was nervous, because this was my first time having a chance to potentially meet face-to-face with my legislators, Representative (and Majority Leader) Barbara Flynn Currie and Senator Kwame Raoul. I knew...
Read more...
by Mirhanda Alewine
CommunityLinks, a program of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC), contracts with managed care health insurance plans to offer a variety of services to their members. One of the services CommunityLinks offers is Reach and Locate, which aims to find and engage members in their health care plans, ultimately offering them services intended to improve care and health outcomes...
Read more...
by Mirhanda Alewine and Eryn MacNeil
In Plain Sight, from Chicago’s History Moves “mobile museum” project , aims to engage communities in conversation about the history of women living with HIV in Chicago by highlighting the stories of participants in the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS). Eryn MacNeil and Mirhanda Alewine, two AFC staff members, had the opportunity...
Read more...
by Mirhanda Alewine
John Pizaña, the Promotor of the Salud y Orgullo Mexicano (SOM) campaign, uses his unique position to encourage and mentor other Mexican men living with HIV.
"We knew that HIV was something that was going to continue to grow."
In September 2014, John Pizaña accepted the position of Promotor of Salud y Orgullo...
Read more...
