advocacy

Recently, the Illinois General Assembly redrew congressional and state legislative districts to reflect the results of the 2010 Census.  Join us on Thursday, July 21 at 12:00 pm for an exciting webinar about how redistricting could change the political landscape in Illinois, with a focus on communities of color and the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities. 

Panelists:

State Rep.

You might feel awkward calling into a Senator’s Office, but really, it can’t be any worse than what this guy is going through. If you’re hesitant to call your elected officials, you’re not alone – but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. Significant cuts to HIV/AIDS programs are at stake, and if Congress doesn’t hear from you, then they won’t think it matters! So go on, pick up that phone even if it’s from the 80’s. It doesn’t matter what it looks like, it’s how you use it– so work it out!

On October 20, 2010, AFC Advocacy Director Jim Pickett gave a plenary presentation at the Australasian HIV/AIDS Conference 2010 in Sydney, Australia. His talk, “Yes, There is a Gay Agenda: The need to re-conceptualize HIV prevention in the epidemic’s third decade” was part of the session titled “Re-Thinking Prevention.” Pickett discussed HIV prevention in the United States context and provided insights into the U.S. Gay Men’s Health Agenda, Chicago’s “How are you healthy?” campaign, the U.S. National HIV/AIDS Strategy, sexual health, and biomedical prevention. Yesterday Pickett co-chaired a symposium called “Political, Cultural, and Logistic Realities of Microbicides for Australasia and the Pacific” and sat on a number of panels discussing STI prevention and gay men’s health.

Download the presentation (PowerPoint)

The final passage of health reform last week is a huge victory for people with HIV and AIDS.  Here are some of the short and long-term changes that will impact our community.

Media, media, everywhere! With so many kinds of electronic media tools and social networking sites around, it can be challenging to determine which ones to use and how to use them. Jim Pickett and Maude Carroll of AIDS Foundation of Chicago and Kate Nelson of the Minnesota AIDS Project break down the electronic media mystery and help make media advocacy easy and accessible.

Last week, the Midwest AIDS Policy Alliance (MAPA), a collaborative of Midwest AIDS organizations dedicated to advancing sound HIV/AIDS policies, met in Chicago to exchange best practices and advocacy strategies for moving the fight against AIDS forward.

Reddit.com recently interviewed Barney Frank about the importance of down and dirty advocacy. Wanna see real health care reform? Then call, write, and pester your legislators.

On May 31, most state representatives voted to create massive service disruptions for vulnerable Illinoisans, including people with HIV.  Each vote against sensible tax reform was in essence a vote to slash lifesaving state health and human services by 50% or more.  These drastic cuts mean fewer HIV tests, fewer prevention services, and

Halfway through the 2009 spring legislative session, the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) is pleased to report significant progress advancing three HIV-related bills in the Illinois General Assembly.