PRess

Honoring LGBTQ+ youth advocacy and community care—plus celebrating the 2025 Grand Marshals, Dr. Maya Green and Dr. Catherine Creticos

The multi-service, grassroots TaskForce Prevention and Community Services (TaskForce) held an “Empower and Engage” event May 8 at Room 1530 in the West Loop.

TaskForce Prevention & Community Services, an LGBTQ+ youth-focused health and wellness organization located on the west side of Chicago, has been selected as the inaugural “Out Front” Leader of the 2025 Chicago Pride Parade.

The West Side-based organization helps hundreds of youths each year by addressing the HIV/STI-related needs of adolescents and young adults living in disenfranchised communities with limited resources, and providing HIV/STI prevention education, testing, treatment and care services as well.

On the evening of November 21, Taskforce Prevention and Community Services held a Thanksgiving dinner for clients and supporters at its office at 9 N. Cicero. The event also featured a raffle and impromptu vogue session.

An Austin community center for LGBTQ youth of color will host the event, which will be open to anyone. Organizers hope it will foster goodwill among the broader Austin community.

On Oct. 19, the Oak Park Area Lesbian and Gay Association (OPALGA+) held its annual gala at Oak Park’s historic Nineteenth Century Charitable Association, 178 Forest Ave.

On June 30, West Side Pride closed Pride Month with a rally and call to action followed by a celebratory ball. The event—co-sponsored by Life is Work, Pride Without Prejudice, Brave Space Alliance and Taskforce Prevention—sought to spotlight the chronic neglect of Chicago’s West Side as well as Black and Brown communities.

Howard Brown Health and TaskForce Prevention & Community Services (TaskForce) announced a collaboration to provide expanded medical services in Chicago’s Austin community, offering free, confidential risk assessments for COVID-19.