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...
Read more...
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. ...
Read more...
The Center for Housing and Health (CHH) is proud to report that the Flexible Housing Pool (FHP) has housed its 1,000th person this month!
Since the first participant reached home in April 2019, the Flexible Housing Pool has been committed to serving people experiencing homelessness who live with chronic health conditions, and those who cycle through crisis settings such as...
Read more...
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...
Read more...
By Indigo Quashie
Peter Toepfer, Executive Director, Center for Housing and Health
“One of the hallmarks of White Supremacy is fixing the problem and trying to directly come to a solution rather than sit with the discomfort. Rather than taking the time to really do things right and allow for different levels of work.”
When asked about his experience...
Read more...
AIDS Foundation Chicago ( AFC) is proud to announce its 2022 state legislative policy agenda . G rounded in racial health equity, t hese legislative priorities are and will help advance the goals and priorities of the Getting to Zero Illinois (GTZ-IL) plan to end the HIV epidemic by 2030.
W e are extremely grateful for the collaboration of the...
Read more...
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...
Read more...
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...
Read more...
By Bailey Williams
Longtime housing advocate Debra La Joyce Thornton, age 64, passed away Thursday, July 1. Debra is survived by her mother, four children and three grandchildren she loved dearly.
Described by many as extremely hardworking and dedicated, Debra spent the last two decades helping hundreds...
Read more...
By Ella Shapiro
Jade Greear, a member of AIDS Foundation Chicago (AFC)’s associate board, is excited about this summer and the opportunity to go out more in the upcoming months. Jade’s optimism is something that many of us have not felt while enduring the COVID-19 pandemic, but Jade has good reason to feel optimistic. She’s fully vaccinated against COVID-19. ...
Read more...
