Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced last week that the Cook County Justice Advisory Council was awarding Catholic Charities a grant of $250,000 to provide services to pregnant and postpartum women and their young children. Such services include counseling, parenting skills, drug treatment, job placement and medical care.

Read more on the Cook County Justice Advisory Council page here.

Did you know that an estimated 40,000 new HIV infections occur every year in the U.S.? It is estimated that 15 to 20% of persons living with the virus DO NOT KNOW that they are infected. If you do not know that you are infected with HIV, you could be spreading the virus to others. The only way to know if you are infected is to get tested.

September 18th marks National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day. Although the number of deaths from AIDS is decreasing, the number of new infections and the number of persons living with AIDS are rising. Among the population groups increasingly at risk for HIV infection are those 50 years and older. As these numbers increase, persons living with AIDS will face the daily challenges of living with the disease as well as the daily challenges of aging.

September 27th marks National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show a sharp increase in the number of new infections among young (13-29) gay and bisexual men. Because of persistent and painful homophobia, stigma and discrimination people are afraid to be tested and seek treatment and health care.

Free and confidential or anonymous testing is available in a community near you.

This disease has NO CURE. There is NO Vaccine to prevent it, and it will NOT GO AWAY!! Know your status; get tested for HIV and share the word with others to do the same!

For more information call 312-948-6500 or go to www.hivaidsservicesministry.org

 

**ADVOCACY UPDATE**

Last Chance to Push for Rate Increase for Senior Home Care Services

Week of May 27, 2019

 

The State of Illinois General Assembly has one more week of regular session! Human services agencies like Catholic Charities continue to operate under the constant pressure of need far outpacing capacity. The clients we are privileged to serve would always benefit from your engagement with legislators.

Please consider contacting your federal, state, and local legislators--particularly if they are new to their elected offices--with the following message: 

 

My name is ______________________ and I am a board member/supporter of Catholic Charities. Catholic Charities serves thousands of seniors in the Community Care Program in Chicago. We need your help to continue paying the Chicago minimum wage to the homecare aides doing this important work! Please support a rate increase for the Community Care Program of $21.64 per hour in House Bill 2776 and Senate Bill 2019, beginning July 1, 2019. Thank you.

 

To locate your state legislator, go to: https://www.elections.il.gov/districtlocator/addressfinder.aspx.

 

Our Office of Government Relations is also available to assist you with talking points and additional information.  Please contact Stephanie Johnson by email or at 312-655-7020