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Remembering Debra La Joyce Thornton: Longtime housing advocate, woman of faith and mother

July 26, 2021

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...
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Learning the Art of Living: My Uncle Kevin’s Legacy

July 15, 2021

By Hannah Kopach, AFC  associate board member and co-captain of the associate board’s AIDS Run & Walk Chicago 2021 Team  Ever since I was asked to write a piece for  AIDS Foundation Chicago (AFC)’s blog, Inside Story, about my Uncle Kevin, I wasn’t sure where to...
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AFC welcomes four new associate board members

July 14, 2021

AIDS Foundation Chicago (AFC)’s  associate board includes young professionals and emerging leaders who are passionate in the fight for HIV/AIDS services and prevention in the Chicagoland area. Members of the associate board act as ambassadors for AFC by taking part in fundraising, community service and advocacy activities that create health equity and justice for...
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“Our legacy is our people”: Celebrating the legacy of the Chicago Black Gay Men’s Caucus

July 1, 2021

By Bailey Williams I n the summer of 2005, party promoters, bar and bathhouse owners, government representatives, community leaders, health providers and Black gay, bisexual and same gender loving men convened at what was formerly the Ramada Inn on 47th Street and South Lakeshore Drive to...
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Living Our Best Sexual Lives in the After Times

June 24, 2021

By Jim Pickett,  Senior Director Prevention Advocacy and Gay Men’s Health  at  AIDS Foundation Chicago The last time I  wrote  about safer sex and pleasure during COVID-19  – last April (in other words, three lifetimes ago)  –   I focused on lots of tasty treats on the sexual menu .  ...
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Naming and celebrating bi+ identities during Pride and beyond

June 15, 2021

By Lauren B. Beach, JD/PhD @laurenbbeach  The term “ Pride” is synonymous with the history of protest and celebration for the liberation of LGBTQIA+ people and communities. Little known, however, is that the origins of Pride have  bisexual   roots .  In 1969, Black and Brown transgender women, including Marsha...
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Coming out and how it led me to advocacy

June 8, 2021

By Danie  Muriello  Everyone in the LGBTQ+ community has a coming-out story. I am a 69 -year-old transwoman, and I’d like to share just the beginning of mine. A little more than six years ago on a very ordinary Sunday afternoon, I was leisurely reading the paper, something I did almost every Sunday. One of the sections I really liked ...
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Digital drag shows: Pride in the age of COVID-19

June 1, 2021

By Ella Shapiro For over a century , drag has been an essential performance art within the LGBTQ+ community. While the roots of drag can be traced back to theatre performance in the late 1800s, the 1900s saw drag transform into a unifying space for the LGBTQ+ community in the face of oppression and criminalization. Drag shows have served as places to come together, be entertained, challenge...
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Marc reflects on a year working as an ER trauma nurse during the COVID-19 pandemic

May 27, 2021

By Ella Shapiro Marc Querol,  a TEAM TO END AIDS (T2 )  athlete and  a n e mergency room (ER) trauma nurse   from  Chicago , is one of many  health  care  professionals  who have dedicated themselves to caring for other s  during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Marc   and other nurses working in hospitals...
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How to get vaccinated in Chicago and Cook County

May 26, 2021

U pdated May 26 , 2021  All people  ages 12 and older are now eligible to get a COVID vaccine. There are many ways to get vaccinated in Chicago and Cook County – here are some of the main ones:   1. Your primary care provider:  Call and see if they are offering vaccines.  If you don’t...
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