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News: Case management

New Medical Case Manager Jose Estrada brings empathy and strength to their clients and community

August 17, 2023

By Diego Roman, Communications Specialist    This week marks the 33rd Anniversary for the Ryan White CARE Act, which provides HIV treatment, care and services to low-income individuals living with HIV. This act is crucial to ending the HIV epidemic, as it aids those in greatest need with medical care, food, and even housing.  In honor of this anniversary,...
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Bringing About Meaningful Change: AFC Celebrates the Work of Tamika Foust and L’Oreal Bailey

August 15, 2023

  By Diego Roman, Communications Specialist    August 18th marks the third annual Positive Women’s Networks (PWN) Celebrate and Honor Black Women in the HIV Movement Day . PWN aims to use this day to highlight Black women and Black women-led organizations as well as their contributions to ending the HIV epidemic.    AIDS Foundation...
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Johnny Pitts: The Transformative Power of Housing as Healthcare

June 28, 2023

By Tyline Burgess, Communications Manager, AFC    Johnny Pitts has faced numerous challenges in his life, beginning with the loss of his mother to an AIDS-related illness, but he has always found the strength to overcome them. Having received an HIV diagnosis himself in his late twenties, Johnny always feared that he would share the same fate as his mother, so he...
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Keep Empowering Young Adults Living with HIV to Succeed

May 3, 2023

By Livvie Avrick  Did you know just under half of people newly diagnosed with HIV in Illinois are young people ages 13-29, and youth living with HIV are disproportionately Black? Yes! Read that again. This data from the Getting to Zero Illinois Dashboard collected in 2020 highlights the impact of racism as a public health crisis on young people in the state.  ...
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From Service to Service: How Jose Diaz's Journey Came Full Circle at the 2022 USCHA

December 7, 2022

This year’s US Conference on HIV and AIDS was held on the island of Puerto Rico in its capital city, San Juan . The island is rich in history with San Juan (founded in 1521) being the oldest city in the US territory and the island itself, after being colonized by Spain and later the US (as a result of the Spanish-American war ), is considered by some to be the oldest colony in the...
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AFC awards $8.82 million in Ryan White grants to 40 organizations to provide HIV-related care and services

December 1, 2022

AIDS Foundation Chicago (AFC) will distribute $8.82 million to 40 organizations to deliver high-quality, cost-effective Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program services in Cook County and surrounding Collar counties. In September 2022, AFC released a Request for Proposals (RFP) to local organizations to support eleven service categories under the Ryan White program. The Ryan White program serves people...
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Led by all Black women, AFC’s Care Team consistently goes above and beyond

September 21, 2022

By Livvie Avrick The role of Black women in healthcare often goes unseen and undervalued. At AFC, the impact of Black women cannot be overstated. Take the Care team for example, led by four extraordinary black female-identified leaders, Bashirat Olayanju, Lakethia Patterson, Angela Jordan, and Melanie Cross, these women are critical in keeping the Chicago HIV communities healthy, well, and...
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Meet Dominique Hayes, AFC’s Lead Care Coordination Specialist

August 18, 2022

By Indigo Quashie Dominique Hayes is the Lead Care Coordination Specialist (CCS) at AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC). She began her work in the field as an intern with Pediatric AIDS Chicago Prevention Initiative (PACPI). Now rebranded as the Mother and Child Alliance (MACA) , this initiative provides prenatal and postpartum comprehensive services to pregnant women and their families...
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Housing is Healthcare

December 9, 2021

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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Ryan White case manager stops opioid overdose minutes after receiving training from AFC

August 1, 2021

By Bailey Williams  For the past three years, Mayra Olivares has helped people living with HIV and AIDS achieve better health outcomes. As a Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program case manager at Erie Family Health Centers, Mayra makes sure her clients receive needed medication, medical appointments and referrals for vital services like housing. Prior to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), Mayra...
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