Kicking off our new HIV/AIDS program!

Welcome to our NEW HIV/AIDS Blog!

NatHIVe American Awareness Forum - 3/20/09

More than 100 people joined AISHC to celebrate National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on March 20. This Celebration of Life featured storytelling by Florence Dunham, a speech by Diné traditionalist Calvin Hill, and other educational speakers. Participants also heard experts speak about HIV/AIDS prevention and sexual assault. AIHSC teamed up with Howard Brown Health Center and Test Positive Aware Network to offer free, rapid HIV testing. The celebration concluded with an evening powwow, with Master of Ceremonies Leonard Malatarre and drum group Cricket Hill.

This year marked the third annual National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. HIV has been on the rise in the past decade among Native American people and the rate continues to increase. AIHSC hopes that this day challenged the Chicago community to work together to create greater awareness of the risk of HIV/AIDS to our Native people. We would like to thank everyone who attended and helped with this year’s event. Be sure to go to our website, http://www.aihschicago.org/, for information about upcoming events.

Events like National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day are just part of the work we do to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS. AIHCS’s HIV Prevention Project provides community education and individual HIV prevention counseling. Our clinic also offers HIV testing. We are available to speak to you or your group about HIV/AIDS and other health issues. For more information, contact Alice at (773) 883-9100.

AIHSC is also convening two committees to help guide our HIV prevention work. If you are interested in becoming a part of the HIV/AIDS Prevention Planning Committees, please contact
Alice at AIHSC.