By Anthony Millspaugh
"Life changes fast. Life changes in the instant...."
So begins the achingly poignant memoir The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion, an exploration of love and loss, grief and resilience. In October 2005, it was the book I was reading when I received a call from a specialist who had recently conducted a procedure ordered by my doctor; the news...
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by Ashley Brown
Each year, corporate teams and sponsors band together for AIDS Run & Walk Chicago to raise awareness and funds for HIV services across Chicagoland and Illinois. One of these generous partners is Quest Diagnostics , which provides clinical laboratory services across the country. We spoke to Regional Marketing Director Joe Huber on how their involvement with...
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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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by Ashley Slupski and Raven Feagins
Please join us in welcoming four new members to the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) Board of Directors, congratulating our new Board chair, Anna Laubach, and honoring our past Board chair, Ben Stringfellow. The 30-member Board helps AFC achieve health equity and justice for people living with HIV by setting strategic direction and raising funds for the...
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by Cristal
As a child of immigrants, I was taught to migrate in order to survive. In the past three years, I have bounced in between California, Chicago, and Mexico searching for both community and financial stability. One thing that I have learned as a migrating queer chicanx is that outside of protests (and sometimes even then) and queer+trans circles – we are constantly FORCED...
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Unexpected life challenges can propel us to become more involved with our communities. For Anton X, re-connecting with his father and getting tested for HIV were the pivotal moments that led him to become the HIV advocate he is today. Now at 23 years old, he is changing the face of leadership in the health equity movement.
Originally from Maywood, a village just outside of Chicago, X currently...
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Confused about the what the American Health Care Act (AHCA) will mean for you? Want to know how it differs from the Affordable Care Act (ACA)? Take our quiz to learn more. Then call your legistor to ask them to vote NO on AHCA.
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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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By Sara Semelka and Pamela Tassin
1. Women’s experiences with HIV are unique, powerful and important
About 1 in 4 people living with HIV in the United States are women and 19% of the new HIV infections in the U.S. in 2014 were among women . Despite this, women are still often left out of conversations about HIV. HIV has impacted women since the...
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