AIDS Foundation of Chicago: HIV/AIDS Case Management

Overview

The Face of HIV/AIDS in the Suburbs

AFC's Efforts in Suburban Communities

AFC Expands Efforts Coordinating
Suburban HIV/AIDS Services

In March, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) named the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) lead agency of the Collar County Title II Consortium. The consortium, formerly known as the Will County Title II Consortium, is a network of HIV/AIDS services funded by Title II of the Ryan White CARE Act for people living with HIV/AIDS in DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties.

As lead agency, AFC will administer $392,524 in Title II funds to support the continuation of HIV/AIDS services at sixteen suburban agencies currently funded through the consortium. The agencies provide housing, primary care, dental services, food and nutrition counseling, emergency assistance, and complementary health therapies to more than 600 people living with HIV in the collar counties.

AFC has administered Title II funds and coordinated AIDS-related services as the lead agency for the Chicago-Cook County Consortium for the past 10 years.

In addition, the Chicago Department of Public Health awarded AFC $35,000 in Title I CARE Act Funds to expand transportation services to low-income HIV-positive individuals in south suburban Cook County. In a prioritized list of services and prevention strategies, the Suburban HIV Prevention and Care Coalition, a regional planning group, ranked transportation as one of its highest concerns. According to the Cook County Department of Public Health, five of the county's ten suburban communities with the highest incidence of AIDS are in Cook's south region. At present, public transportation in the south suburbs is either non-existent or hard-to-reach, and cab services are expensive and unreliable, making it difficult for people to access critical healthcare services.

As part of its new transportation grant, AFC will partner with Pegasus Transportation Company, a minority-owned and operated private venture, to offer reliable transportation throughout the area south of 95th Street to Joliet and from the Indiana border west to Grundy County. The goal of the program, called the Transportation Expansion Project, is to provide at least 75 clients in underserved areas with reliable, comprehensive transportation services by February 2002. AFC and Pegasus Transportation will monitor the project's progress on a monthly basis, tracking client satisfaction and suggestions.