STEP UP.GET TESTED. Chicagoland June HIV Testing Events & Campaign

June 11, 2015 - PRLog -- CHICAGOLAND HIV TESTING COLLABORATIVE IMPLEMENTING JUNE 2015 CAMPAIGN WITH PUBLIC HEALTH, COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS & CORPORATE SPONSORS UNITING FOR MONTH-LONG ACTIVITIES

Launch Event, Public Transportation Mobile Testing Events & Safer Sex Packet Distribution, Festivals, Skating Parties and More Promote Healthcare Screenings and Linkage to Care Partnership

CHICAGO, IL (June 10, 2015)   “Step Up. Get Tested.” was the rallying cry of 2015 campaign co-chairpersons Bianca Davis, Prevention Manager, South Suburban HIV.AIDS Regional Coalition; Ebony Barney, Prevention Manager for Test PositiveAware Network; and Robin Booker, Health Educator and Outreach Coordinator for Austin CBC, as they led the campaign launch event on June 4^th at the plaza of the James R. Thompson Center promoting June as HIV Testing Month.  Speakers representing public health, community-based organizations and corporate sponsors spoke about the importance of everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 getting tested for HIV as part of their routine health care, in addition to health screenings for Hepatitis C, hypertension, cholesterol and diabetes. Speakers included:

Nicole Harvey, Representative for U.S. Congressman Danny K. Davis
Dr. Julie Morita, Commissioner, Chicago Department of Public Health
Dr. Robert Hilliard Jr., President of Harmony, a subsidiary of WellCare Health Plans
Serette B. King, Manager, Outreach Services, Howard Brown Health Center
Annika Lane, General Manager, US Virology, AbbVie
Vanessa Smith, Executive Director, Southside Help Center, an affiliate of AIDS Healthcare Foundation
Omar Lopez, Director, CALOR, a division of Anixter Center
John Peller, President and CEO, AIDS Foundation of Chicago

Harvey commented on the disproportionately high incidence of HIV/AIDS in the African-American community, while Morita referenced CDPH’s 2014 Surveillance Report noting that 80% of Chicagoans newly diagnosed with HIV were linked to care within 3 months, 80% of whom achieved viral suppression, both which are above the national average.  Hilliard referenced Harmony WellCare’s focus in Chicagoland addressing behavioral and mental health, childhood obesity, and HIV/AIDS awareness, testing and care due to the “great negative stigma which often makes it even more difficult for those suffering from these conditions to get access to quality care”. Smith pointed out the need for those who have been tested to encourage their families, neighbors and friends to get tested, while Peller pointed out the significance of healthcare reform in providing greater opportunities for medical services to those who had contracted the virus.

The support of corporate sponsors, Harmony Wellcare and AbbVie, led to more events and promotional efforts for the campaign this year including outdoor festivals, free skating parties, co-branded bus shelter ads and print and radio advertisements featuring the Collaborative’s campaign message and a call-to-action that drives testing and overall participation.

Events during the launch weekend included mobile testing near eight public transit sites on Friday, June 5th from the city limits on the Northside on Howard Street, to the far Southside on 71^st Street, the Westside near 18^th and Paulina and Central and Lake and the south suburbs in Harvey, Illinois.

On Saturday June 6th, hundreds attended the Fahrenheit Chicago Back2Basics Ball at the Chicago Illuminating Company, 2110 South Wabash. Severe thunderstorms on Sunday June 7th lead to the rescheduling of the Soul Music Fest. However, the event will be combined with the campaign’s upcoming “Pride at Montrose” event on June 28th from 11:00 am - 7:30 pm at “Cricket Hill”, 4400 North Montrose, featuring performances by Fly Red and Sampson McCormick in addition to FREE HIV, Hepatitis C, blood pressure and diabetes screenings.

Additional mobile testing will be hosted near CTA “El” stops every Friday including, June 12th at the Wilson Redline; June 19th at Pulaski & Lake and June 26th at 47th & King.  Youth focused events will offer free admission and skate rental to attendees ages 13 – 30, who “step up and get tested” on June 13th from 4:30 - 7:30 pm at the Markham Roller Rink, 16630 Dixie Highway, Markham, IL and on June 27th, Annual National HIV Testing Day, from 3:30 – 6:30 pm at The Rink, 1122 East 87th Street, Chicago, IL.

Throughout June, visit http://stepupgettested.com to learn more about the campaign and to get more event information.National HIV Testing Day was created by the National Association of People with AIDS, and has been observed every June 27th since 1995 to raise awareness about HIV prevention and education.

ABOUT THE CHICAGO HIV TESTING COLLABORATIVE

Step Up. Get Tested. is a unified effort supported by the Chicago HIV Testing Collaborative – a group of community and public health organizations that have joined forces to promote HIV testing in the city’s most at-risk communities. For a full list of initiative partners visit www.StepUpGetTested.com/partner-agencies.

STATISTICS

Every 9.5 minutes, someone in the U.S. becomes HIV-positive, and almost one in seven people living with HIV are unaware of their infection. In Chicago alone, an estimated 25,000 people are living with HIV, and more than 1,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. Recent reports from the Chicago Department of Public Health state that the number of new cases of HIV and AIDS diagnosed annually in the city has dropped by 46% and 43% over the past ten years, respectively. However, the same report shows that over the past five years, 20-24 year olds in Chicago are the only group continuing to see a rise in new HIV infections.

#SUGT  #SUGTHarmony  #ITESTFOR   #STEPUPLIFE.