By Raven Feagins
Darrow Alexander is a Chicago native originally from the Englewood neighborhood. He thrives on connecting with others, especially if it’s through food, and he loves giving back to his community. However, before he settled into his cozy apartment in Uptown almost six years ago, Darrow whole-heartedly believed that he would forever be alone.
“I...
Read more...
By Kirstin Brockenborough
Enrollment in the Illinois Health Insurance Marketplace will be open for a few more days, and the excitement for another year of the Affordable Care Act (the ACA, a.k.a. Obamacare) is still in the air. (It could also be climate change, but who knows!)
The ACA created a way to expand Medicaid and create more opportunities for people to enroll in...
Read more...
For more than 30 years, AFC has worked to transform the systems that contribute to HIV prevention, awareness and access to lifesaving care and services. AFC leads the largest coordinated HIV case management system in the country, ensuring over 5,000 clients receive medical and supportive services every year. Through the networks AFC has built and continues to fund and lead, thousands of people...
Read more...
By Raven Feagins
The U.S. version of the TV show Shameless focuses on a dysfunctional family from Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood. The show is filled with cringe-worthy moments, plenty of (often dark) humor and compelling storylines. During seasons six and seven (2016) the show also included a character named Caleb who was living with HIV. Caleb was an attractive firefighter...
Read more...
By Aaron Talley
An Ill-Fated Hookup
In early October 2015, when Sanjay Johnson, then 22, met up with college freshman James Booth for a hookup after meeting on Jack’d, he had no idea this consensual encounter would lead to Booth accusing him of knowingly transmitting the HIV virus.
I interview Johnson over the phone. It is now three years later, and...
Read more...
World of Chocolate 2018 is right around the corner, folks! Check out our behind the scenes interviews with our launch party chocolatier, Four Seasons Hotel Chicago , who delighted us last month with their chocolate-filled treats at the World of Chocolate launch party held at the British Consulate General Chicago. Get ready to indulge at our premiere World AIDS Day event on Friday,...
Read more...
To co-opt the words of old Kanye, “Donald Trump doesn’t care about transgender people.” This president of the United States has put a target on the backs of our trans-kin, and we cannot be silent about it.
According to the New York Times, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) “is considering narrowly defining gender as a biological, immutable...
Read more...
By Raven Feagins
McHenry, Illinois, has been Jamie Braxton's home since she was 8 years old. She loves the familiarity that living in a smaller city brings (McHenry has a population of 26,600). Jamie (pictured at left, in center) grew up in a two-parent household, regularly attended church and describes her upbringing as overall normal. In 1995, when she was 33 years old, she even began...
Read more...
By Earl Fowlkes
The HIV/AIDS pandemic has been with us since 1981 and I have worked in the HIV/AIDS prevention and care field since the mid-80s as a caregiver, volunteer, service provider and administrator. I have often referred to those days as the “time of darkness,” as an HIV diagnosis meant pain and heartache, both physical as well as emotional, as there were very few medicines...
Read more...
Chris Wade is more than just your average HIV advocate.
His longstanding work and organizing in downstate Illinois contribute to education and advocacy for the rights of people living with HIV. He attended the 2018 HIV is Not a Crime National Training Academy (HINAC 3) back in June in Indianapolis, Ind., which trained advocates from all over the nation to talk about...
Read more...
