Happy 2019! The new year brings in renewed energy, and AFC staff are back at work continuing their plans towards advancing health equity! With new and continuing projects underway, we checked in with three staff members about to see what they are most excited about for 2019.
"In 2019, I am looking forward to being able to give the reentry returning citizens housing and employment opportunities...
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By Jared Smith*, Edited by Raven Feagins
AFC received a packet in the mail in May 2018 with AIDS ribbon lapel pins and a beautiful, hand-written note. We followed up to find out more. Here’s a story from a young man about his father and how the pins arrived at AFC.
An eye doctor by profession, a friend to many, a husband, an uncle and a father. My father was a man of many...
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2018 was another year full of policy and legislative ups and downs on all levels. However, AFC and like-minded advocates across the country stayed strong when faced with sometimes harsh and inhumane policies that threatened the livelihoods of our communities. Here are a few of the most influential policy and legislative highlights of the year.
Illinois Medicaid hepatitis C...
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By Raven Feagins
This post originally appeared on November 29, 2018 on GTZIllinois.hiv .
Conversations around U=U , PrEP and condom use are common among folks in the HIV workforce, but how can these conversations get started in middle and high school classrooms? The Hult Center for Healthy Living addresses this, among other topics, in their comprehensive sexual health curriculum...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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,...
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