AIDS walked into Robert Neubert's life almost 30 years ago.
It was the mid-1980s and Neubert was the musical director for a traveling musical theatre tour. His good friend Paul, an actor in the company, was sick and needed further medical attention beyond what was available during a stop in Rockton, Ill. Doctors there were unable to help him and suggested he return home to seek an HIV specialist,...
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By Jim Pickett
The shocking truth is we don’t know much about the safety of sexual lubricants and whether or not they may actually contribute to the spread of HIV.
We know that using condoms with condom-compatible lube is an important HIV prevention intervention. But more than 30 years into the HIV pandemic, we don’t know whether sexual lubricants (lubes) increase,...
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HIV advocates pose in the State House rotunda before seeking out their legislators.
By Lucy Baglin
In the midst of the Illinois’ notoriously unpredictable "Lame Duck Session," 15 HIV/AIDS advocates and myself headed down to Springfield on Monday to advocate the passage of ‘Medicaid Financing for the Uninsured’ – a bill that would help provide health...
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The two lovers gave each other matching silver engagement rings for Christmas.
Tom Menard and Topher Duerkes, engaged for a year, may be swapping them in for wedding rings sooner than expected.
Illinois’ same-sex marriage bill, sponsored by state Sen. Heather Steans, D-Chicago, garnered national attention when it steamrolled its way into a Senate committee vote last...
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Driving the Story: Engaging the Media to Expand Health Access for People Living with HIV from Dose of Change on Vimeo .
It's important for HIV/AIDS organizations and advocates to be able to engage the media and tell powerful HIV stories, particularly in a time when many Americans seem disinterested. Compelling stories can sway public...
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In case you missed it, here's a quick roundup of AFC in the news, over the holiday week, responding to the latest HIV statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in late December.
To read AFC's full statement in response to the CDC statistics, click here .
Leslie Mann, a reporter for the Chicago Tribune , focused her story on the rise of HIV infections...
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It's almost World AIDS Day!
Here's are a few important events going on in Chicago to honor the occasion.
First, the basics: This Saturday is World AIDS Day, observed every year on December 1.
World AIDS Day is an opportunity to celebrate the gains made in ending the epidemic, embrace those living with HIV/AIDS and commemorate those who have died of AIDS throughout the...
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Dr. Kamiar Alaei, on left, and his brother, Dr. Arash Alaei, at the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, November 2012.
By Sara Semelka
For more than a decade, Dr. Arash Alaei and his brother Dr. Kamiar Alaei made quiet but revolutionary changes in Iran’s healthcare system, focusing on harm reduction practices for people forced into the shadows of society, including LGBT...
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Dr. Lisa Henry-Reid poses with her family. From left to right, daughter Lorelle, son Taylor, Dr. Henry-Reid and her husband Samuel.
To many, the debate over comprehensive v. abstinence-only sex education is one of cultural values and political leanings.
But it’s much more for Dr. Lisa Henry-Reid. She has dedicated her professional life to adolescent medicine. She’s...
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Photo credit: Charles le Brigand
By Julie Davids, Director of National Mobilization and Advocacy for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago
“People who didn’t evacuate are stupid … careless … a danger to others…”
Ringing any bells?
“They were in denial … selfish… thought they were invulnerable.”...
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