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Seven community leaders join AFC’s Board in 2018

September 11, 2018

The day-to-day operations of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago focus on improving access to services for people living with and vulnerable to HIV and other chronic illnesses; this vision emerges from AFC’s 27-person Board of Directors . These community leaders bring a variety of skills and interests to cast the vision for the organization and lead it in achieving its mission. In 2018, the...
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A day in the life of a case manager

August 20, 2018

The AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) coordinates 135 case managers throughout the Chicago metropolitan area to support clients who are living with HIV and related chronic diseases. Case managers are there to connect with clients directly and help them achieve goals such as obtaining stable housing or getting connected to a medical provider that may help them reach an undetectable viral load...
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This ‘magnetic couple’ runs to end stigma

August 9, 2018

Brandon My name is Brandon Strawn, and I pride myself on being an educator, a musician and a delight.  In 2005, I came out as gay, and in 2009, I had my first HIV test. At this point in my life, I was a fairly chaste first-year teacher who spent his days teaching and his nights preparing for more teaching. So when the test came back positive, I was shocked and devastated. ...
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“One little prick of the finger determined my life”

July 30, 2018

By Raven Feagins Hataria James is an outgoing, loving mother of 6 with a passion for giving back to her community. While she is in an incredibly stable place in her life right now, 16 years ago she would have never imagined where she is at today.  Hataria currently works at Men & Women in Prison Ministries (MWIPM) , an organization dedicated to supporting the health, wellness...
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Paying the Price: the truth about HCV treatment on Medicaid

July 27, 2018

By Ashley Brown UPDATE: In November 2018, the Illinois Department of Health and Family Services (HFS) announced that a hepatitis C cure would be accessible for thousands more Illinoisans on Medicaid, many of whom were previously denied treatment until they reached end-stage disease. Learn more here . If you are on Medicaid in Illinois and have hepatitis C, be prepared to wait...
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His Lifelong Journey to Being Poz and Proud

July 18, 2018

By Rae Colyer My name is Rae Colyer, and I am the youngest of twelve. Out of all my siblings, I happen to be closest with Marlin Jr., my eldest brother (he’s got fifteen and half years on me)! Both of us identify as queer individuals; me as a genderqueer pansexual, he as a gay man. If it were not for his guidance, and his own trials and tribulations coming out, I have no idea where...
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Why we love sex ed (and you should, too): A case for more comprehensive, evidence-based sex ed in schools

July 9, 2018

By Clair Daney This spring, Baltimore made headlines as a federal judge ordered the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to restore $5 million in grant funding it had withheld without explanation from two local evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs.  This story has been a single outgrowth amid the Trump administration’s broader push to eliminate science-based,...
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Supporting my uncle means supporting a community

June 27, 2018

By Isabella Guzman I was invited and inspired by my uncle, Armando Ramirez, whom I love very much, to participate in AIDS Run & Walk Chicago 6 years ago. He was diagnosed with HIV 14 years ago. All I knew at that time was that I was going to be supportive and have fun with my mom and uncles. I would get my own shirt and my own running number and that was exciting in itself! My...
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More than a call

June 25, 2018

 By Raven Feagins  “Imagine putting on multiple hats with each call you receive. Sometimes I’m the person that clients call to laugh and joke with, but oftentimes I’m the person they’re reaching out to because they’re in a crisis. Often, my team and I are the sole individuals that a caller has disclosed their HIV status to at the time of their...
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Mr. Goode Goes to Springfield

June 21, 2018

By Coleman Goode On a dark May morning, I arrived at work before the sun was up fighting off nerves ahead of my first large Springfield Advocacy Day here at the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC). Our mission: deliver over 100 advocates to the state capitol to advocate for a positive budget with their state legislators. Our message was clear: they need to fully fund HIV programs and...
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