One year ago today, the Pulse nightclub shooting brought immense grief to our nation and reminded us about the havoc guns can reap on America’s most vulnerable communities. The AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) was deeply saddened by the death of 49 members of the broader LGBTQ and Latinx community. We were also deeply moved to end gun violence in Chicago and across...
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As the Illinois spring legislative session ends, the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) celebrates its legislative accomplishments, despite enduring a third year without passage of a state budget. Illinois has now gone 700 days and counting without passing a positive, people-first budget . As the state moves into another year without a responsible economic plan in place, the most vulnerable members...
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by Ashley Brown
Before the first morning light had struck Chicago’s streets, almost 100 HIV advocates from various backgrounds came together on May 17 to travel to Springfield to fight for HIV lives at the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC)’s annual event Advocacy Day. Abuzz with excitement for the upcoming day, familiar faces shared greetings and hugs, like family members long...
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The three organizations that coordinate HIV prevention services in Illinois outside Chicago – Champaign-Urbana Public Health District, Illinois Public Health Association, and Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago – and the AIDS Foundation of Chicago are outraged to learn that new data from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) found the state budget impasse decreased...
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By Cotrell Loftin
Jessica Glaspie and I met in a small Starbucks in Mundelein, IL, on a Sunday morning shortly after I returned to Chicago on a 6-hour overnight bus trip. The precious caffeine helped fuel both my energy and an incredible conversation. In recognition of National Women's and Girls' HIV & AIDS Awareness Day, Glaspie, a powerful advocate featured in a prior Inside...
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Despite the uncertainty of the ACA's future and fear about the new administration’s discriminatory policies, AFC’s case managers stay committed to providing the quality care clients need.
By Cotrell Loftin
Mara Williamson is standing outside the conference room, warmly greeting people as they enter. “Good morning and welcome to the training. Don’t...
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This article highlights the successes the AIDS Foundation of Chicago achieved in 2016. Read more about our work in our Annual Report .
Hear from AFC's boldest voices for change as they describe their fight in 2016:
We are AIDS advocates. We FIGHT BACK. We fight for women to be treated with respect. We fight for Black lives, trans lives,...
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This year ushers in significant changes in political leadership on the national level. The Trump administration and the Republican-controlled Congress have pledged to alter the future of health care in America. The effects of this could have drastic impacts on people around the country, and in Illinois specifically. At the same time, Illinois is now in its second year without a state budget,...
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For the third year in a row, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner failed to present the Illinois General Assembly with a budget that protects the state’s most vulnerable people, proposing a 44% cut to vital HIV funding streams in his budget address on Wednesday.
“The budget proposed today is outright dangerous for people living with...
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In his annual State of the State Address, Gov. Bruce Rauner discussed the accomplishments of the past year, goals for the year ahead and how lawmakers must work together. Unfortunately, we’ve heard this before. Illinois’s most vulnerable residents can’t afford another year of empty promises and battles between the governor and the General Assembly, while those in need continue...
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