Every year, the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) mobilizes advocates and staff to talk with elected officials in Springfield about the needs and concerns of the HIV community. The legislative session gives us an opportunity to talk about current legislation that directly impacts us and the communities we serve. We speak up to humanize health care, housing and employment policies intended to help...
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Curtis Montgomery has been an advocate with the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) for over 10 years. Currently serving on the Ryan White Consumer Advisory Board (CAB), Curtis is passionate about educating people about HIV prevention and serving as an example that being diagnosed with HIV is not the end. He, along with his fellow CAB members, are embarking on a mission to spread awareness about...
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AIDS Run & Walk Chicago brings together Chicago’s HIV community and supporters each year to celebrate, honor and remember how far we have come in the HIV epidemic. Open Door Health Center of Illinois is one of the many community-based organizations that fundraises with AIDS Run & Walk Chicago year after year to help them continue providing services and support for people living...
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By Raven Feagins
Jeraldine Taylor is a petite, 60-year-old woman who enjoys the simple things in life. She loves to cook, read and watch TV when she gets a chance to catch up on the news or indulge in shows like Judge Mathis and Steve. These are the things that help keep her mind off the past and humble her to be grateful for where she is today.
For most of her life, Jeraldine...
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By AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Policy and Advocacy Chair, Craig W. Johnson
Hold on to your rainbow-hued glasses as we list how PrEP can help us eliminate the transmission of HIV by 2030.
The AIDS Foundation of Chicago along with Governor J.B Pritzker and Illinois and Chicago Departments of Public Health announced the Getting to Zero Illinois plan in Springfield last month, a...
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By Brian Solem
Some say it started with a brick — a brick hurled at New York City Police Department officers by a trans woman of color (perhaps Marsha P. Johnson , perhaps someone else). The brick (or high heel or shot glass or heavy bag or other projectile — reports vary ) was a response to a violent, Saturday-night raid of the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay space in New York...
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By Jamie Hock
Barely being able to contain his smile, Dyonte explains the significance of the tattoo on his lower forearm. The verse from Romans 8:18 reads “The pain you feel today can’t amount to the joy that’s coming”. Beaming he explains “It means a lot to me because I go through a lot, you know? So it’s like I got that tattoo you know so when I do...
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Do you admire our t-shirts from our previous Advocacy Days ? If so, you have the Ohio-based company Nightsweats & T-Cells to thank.
We have utilized their services as our main t-shirt vendor for this event for the past seven years because of their commitment to the HIV community. We have an ongoing commitment to support vendors that give back to our community and vendors led by...
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Let’s say you went out yesterday for a night on the town, but you didn’t use a condom, the condom broke or something else unexpected happened during your night out like sharing needles while injecting drugs. Or perhaps you feel bad or confused about the sex you had in the moment or the morning after or you were a victim of sexual assault. Now
5 Fast Facts About...
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By Raven Feagins
HIV affects people of all genders, sexualities, races and ethnicities, but Black Americans in particular are overrepresented in the numbers. While Black Americans only make up about 12% of the US population, 43% of people with new HIV diagnoses and approximately 42% of people living with HIV in the U.S. are Black . Multiple factors contribute to this enormous health disparity,...
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