Meet a CWAP Sister: Marilyn

“I always read my CWAP newsletter, to keep up with everything. I wait for it in the mail every other month. I would see all the pictures from SASS graduations, but the timing never worked out because I am in school. But now at Lawndale I was able to make it work!” Marilyn graduated from Project SASS at Lawndale Christian Health Center in November!

Marilyn is a full time student and will be graduating with her Bachelor of Community Health, before going on to study a Master of Public Health. “You should never stop learning. It’s important to stay up to date, things are changing and improving in the future,” explains Marilyn. To keep up to date, Marilyn says, “I go online. You want to go somewhere credible, my main site is USA.gov, the Centers for Disease Control, or the National Institute for Health.”

Marilyn has enjoyed Project SASS and says “I thought it was going to be a simple class, but Project SASS has covered everything.” Marilyn’s message to her CWAP sisters is to “live with perseverance, courage, and take care of yourself before everyone else. In the morning you wake up, you start with you. You can live with HIV, its been 25 years and I feel better everyday, when its hard, just take it one day at a time.”

Celebrating our leaders for World AIDS Day

This World AIDS Day, CWAP would like to honor Gigi Nicks, former Director of Patient Advocacy at the CORE Center. From her time at Cook County Hospital to her work with CORE, Gigi touched thousands of lives as a crusader for the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS.

As Community Advocacy Coordinator at Cook County Hospital, Gigi established and went on to facilitate the Women and Children HIV/AIDS Program. She embodied courage, something not seen in many people in the early days of the epidemic, and she helped others around her to find courage in the face of adversity.

At the CORE Center, Gigi fought to be the voice of people living with HIV/AIDS, and became the first
Ombudsperson for HIV/AIDS at CORE. She was instrumental in the establishment of the peer program, supporting and empowering clients in advocating for themselves and educating their peers.

Gigi took her life as a blessing, and didn't allow her status to take away from her right to an enjoyable, happy life;

"I spell aids in lowercase because I try to keep it from claiming too much power in my life, and I want to show that."

Gigi passed away from a heart attack on August 19, 2004, leaving us an incredible legacy of HIV/AIDS advocacy. Today she continues to be an inspiration to people affected by HIV/AIDS everywhere, and the CWAP team would like to acknowledge Gigi for the pioneering work she has contributed to the field, and the difference she has made to many of our lives on a personal level.

Arlana's Story at Chicago Women's aids project (CWAP)

Arlana Harris:

        My journey with HIV began in 2009. At that time I was dealing with substance abuse, I went into treatment to try to get my life on the right track. Obviously a different path began my way. 

        A health educator at the facility I was receiving treatment at, asked, “Did anyone want an HIV test?” I said yes, only to the fact of getting out of one of my classes. But I realized today that it was nothing but God leading me on another journey that he wants me to explore in life. About a week later the educator pulled me to the side and counselled me to let me know that I was HIV positive. At that time, I felt my life was over. I wanted to give up but that inner voice within myself said no, I have better things in store for you. During my journey it has not always been easy. I have dealt with guilt and depression among other things that I felt might have hindered my progress as a normal person. 

        As I learned more about the virus that I have, I learned that I can be an asset to the cause. I educated myself about the virus and also learned how to be an advocate for the cause. Through working with the Chicago Women’s AIDS Project has been a very rewarding experience. It has taken me to new platforms that I felt that couldn’t be reached. With that, I would like to encourage others to get to know their status, educate themselves and be an advocate to help reduce the contraction of the HIV/AIDS virus. Furthermore, through investigation I have learned that our communities and resources are in need of finances to help the women who need the encouragement, empowerment and education to also help fight the virus at hand.

Spotlight On: Helena Bushong!

Helena Bushong’s Testimony

Helena is one of CWAP’s amazing clients who recently gave a personal testimony on her experiences living with AIDS and the importance of being in and staying in care. The testimony was given at the Chicago State HIV Service Planning Council South Side Community Input Forum. Helena was the final panelist to speak for the evening and brought many audience members to tears with her testimony that ended with a standing ovation.

This is Helena’s Story:

At the time of Helena’s initial diagnosis in 2002 she was told that her CD4 count was less than 74 and was immediately diagnosed with AIDS. Helena was a “late tester” and had been living with HIV for a long time prior to testing positive. In addition to AIDS she also had Hepatitis C.

After her diagnoses Helena was in shock and denial. She never thought that she was at risk since she had never acted promiscuously and was only intimate in serious committed relationships. Helena now sees part of her denial as a fear of the disease itself. Eventually, she came to the realization that she had to accept her diagnoses if she wanted to live.

Helena decided to face her fear by learning all she could about AIDS. Through the process of taking care of herself and educating herself she realized that in order to address her lack of self esteem and depression she needed to meet with a transgender counselor. With the support of her counselor Helena made the transition to a woman. After the transition is when Helena contacted CWAP and began working as a peer outreach worker and found sanctity in the support of other women.

As Helena reflected on her experiences, she named some obstacles to adherence.

“Something that health care providers typically don’t realize is that patients just get tired of this disease consuming part of their lives.” This is why Helena believes that she and many others tend to fall out of treatment for some time. “The routine of taking medication at the same time everyday starts to control aspects of your social life, making sure that I’m home by 11pm would prevent me from simple activities like seeing a movie with friends.” Helena also talked about some of the issues that the African American community still needs to address, “when the outbreak of AIDS started, the gay community came together and started support groups, formed coalitions, and opened clinics to help one another. The African American community has yet to react in this same supportive manner, people are dying but the issue is still not being addressed.” Helena ended her testimony with, “in the end this is a request for the community to be empowered. There is a healthcare crime in effect and we have the responsibility to address that.”

Welcome to CWAP's Blog!

The CWAP Blog will be used to provide reminders for upcoming events, spotlight what people at CWAP are currently doing, and more!

Be sure to check back soon for updates!