Four years ago, AFC was introduced to Scott Christian. In life, Scott has had his fair share of health difficulties. Having endured tuberculosis as a child, it was hard for Scott to hear of his new HIV-positive diagnosis in 2010 — and to hear that his T-cell count was 233, just 33 counts above the threshold for AIDS.
Today, Scott is doing better and lives in Chicago’s South Shore...
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Melanie Paul knows firsthand the challenge of learning about an HIV-positive status when it’s least expected. She knows what it’s like to experience homelessness — to live on the Red Line and friends’ couches. She knows how difficult it is to make sense of a new medical status while wrestling with the stigma of a lifetime of HIV.
And yet, she has an incredible...
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One of the most remarkable things about Lori Kaufman, and there are many, is the strength of her commitment. A Board member of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) since 1989, Kaufman has dedicated 25 years of her life to the fight against HIV/AIDS — and she’s seen it all.
As AFC begins its 30th year of action in 2015, few people are as well equipped to reflect on AFC’s...
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Despite the immense progress made in the battle to destigmatize HIV and end HIV criminalization laws, the mainstream media is failing to catch up and join the fight. In some cases, the media’s coverage of HIV criminalization becomes the source of stigma.
A new case under an outdated HIV criminalization law in Illinois demonstrates the media’s inability to handle sensitive...
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TheBodyPro.com ’s Julie Davids interviewed the AIDS Foundation of Chicago’s Director of Prevention Advocacy and Gay Men’s Health Jim Pickett on the first HIV Research for Prevention (HIV R4P) conference , which he is currently attending in Cape Town, South Africa. Read the full interview here .
Jim Pickett is a one-man example of the blurring lines in HIV prevention...
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Haunted House gives more than scares to the community in partnership with AFC
You have likely heard of trick-or-treating for charitable causes (see: UNICEF), but at Fear City Haunted House in Morton Grove, Ill, the team is turning thrills, chills and screams of terror into charitable dollars. Behind the special effects and creepy characters that give you goosebumps, the haunted house...
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“We Are Here: Black Gay Men in the South, ” is a blog tour curated by the Counter Narrative Project and the HIV Prevention Justice Alliance to amplify the voices of black gay men in the South. Each day for the next week, a new piece will be posted. For more information, feel free to contact: thecounternarr[email protected]
When R esilience...
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AFC Public Allies Intern Lawrence Turner covered two events to commemorate National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day that were sponsored by AFC — the Black Gay Guys Rock Monologues, a night of storytelling on Sept. 24 about experiences among black gay men, and Sex in the City II, a daylong conference on Sept. 25 that unpacked a spectrum of joys and concerns faced by the black gay male...
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Dear Friends:
It is with pleasure that I announce that, on behalf of the Board of Directors of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC), we have appointed John Peller as AFC’s new president/CEO.
After a rigorous national search, the board unanimously decided John was the best person to lead the organization. Given his proven leadership and accomplishments in the sector coupled...
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The Team to End AIDS (T2) has for five years offered people who are interested in completing an endurance event the opportunity to raise significant funds toward the fight to end HIV/AIDS while getting trained for athletic success. Through its triathlon, Steelhead, half-marathon and marathon training programs and fundraising guidance, T2 athletes have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars —...
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