PRess

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.

Trans Latinx activist and advocate Reyna Ortiz’s upcoming book, “T: Stands for Truth,” will be released Nov. 7.

The AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) has announced its plan to provide Taskforce Prevention and Community Services (Taskforce) and Chicago Black Gay Men’s Caucus (CBGMC) with development grants and support in long-term strategic planning.

Responding to the murders of two transgender women in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood this year, officials and LGBTQ youth came together Dec. 11 for a panel discussion about safety in the neighborhood.

With a fourth stabbing in recent weeks to hit Lakeview on July 16, the neighborhood continues to grapple with a perceived rise in crime and the anxieties of young people who feel blamed for it.

Chicago may soon get due credit for having one of the most active and diverse transgender populations in the country. Locally based cable production company Towers Productions is looking for transgender youth for a new TV series, slotted to air as soon as early next year.

This is the first of an occasional series that focuses on the Minority Intervention Network for Chicago Communities of Color (MINC-3).

It might be a cliché but Chicago AIDS activist Robert Lee Ames, Jr., ‘fought the good fight’ with grace, style and hope until recently taking his last breath.