Westside Health Advocates Regional Planning Coalition- WHARP

03/10/2021

WHARP was waiting patiently for COVID-19 but seems like we have to get busy again. See you soon.
B. Walker, Chair

11/18/2019

WHARP is excited to welcome our members today with a fantastic hot breakfast! As well as some fantastic community presentations from MESMERIZE, The Loretto Hospital, West Side He**in Opioid Task Force, and Healthcare Alternative Systems. See you all soon!

10/29/2019

WHARP members helped coordinate Congressman Danny K. Davis' "Staying in Care Changes The Landscape of the Epidemic" event last Friday, October 25th. This event allowed community members, health advocates, and politicians to come together to discuss the funding, accessibility, and use of HIV services in the city of Chicago.

The event hosted a number of fantastic speakers and leaders in HIV advocacy and care. Pictured here, left to right, LaSaia Wade Exectuive Director of Brave Space Alliance, Dr. Abraham Morgan from Mount Sinai Hospital & Health Systems, Berenice Thomas CEO of Near North Health Corp., Congressman Danny Davis, Dr. Maya Green HIV/AIDS and Family Medicine Physician, Dr. Bonnie Pete Thomas Director of Medical Support Services at Near North Health Corp, and Dr. Ramona Burress Senior Medical Science Liaison at Janssen ID.

Thank you all for your continued advocacy and for sharing your knowledge.

08/16/2019

Hi everyone! We are excited to see everyone this Monday 8/19 from 10am-12pm at The Loretto Hospital for our August WHARP Meeting! We are fortunate to have Trey Daly, Legal Aid Chicago's Public Benefits Practice Group Director, presenting on Medicare Savings Programs for low income beneficiaries. These are important programs for people over 65 or under 65 and receiving Social Security Disability Insurance benefits. They are highly underutilized. They save recipients at least 10% of their income each month. We will continue our discussions about WHARP's future on role on the Westside and look forward to building a stronger coalition together!

04/29/2019

Hello WHARP members and community! Thank you to all of you who were able to attend April's meeting. We heard Erin Jaworski, research director of Project CHOICES at the CORE center. Project CHOICES is an opioid dependency treatment study sponsored by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) examining the effectiveness of Extended-Release Naltrexone (XR-NTX) versus Treatment as Usual (TAU). The study tracks both substance use and HIV outcomes over the course of 6 months.

The CHOICES study is seeking adults who are:
(1) HIV-positive
(2) have used opioids, like he**in, in the past year
(3) interested opioid use disorder treatment

If you or someone you work with is interested in the program, please call 312-572-4531. Study participants are compensated for their time.

Don't forget to take the WHARP survey to give your input on the last meeting and what you would like to see change! Follow this link to take the 2 minute survey: https://forms.gle/YW7owvrj2S8QGgcL8

Thank you!

Thank you for completing this survey. Your responses are anonymous and will help us improve future WHARP meetings.

04/11/2019

In 2017, more people in Chicago died from Opioid- related overdose than gun-related homicide or traffic crashes. Austin, Humboldt Park, and North Lawndale are three of the most highly impacted communities in Chicago.

Join us Monday, April 15th at The Loretto Hospital from 10AM-12 noon for a presentation on Opioid Addiction and a discussion about it's impact on the Westside. We look forward to seeing many new faces around the table!

03/27/2019

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend the March WHARP meeting this past Monday. We had a great discussion about the future of WHARP and a wonderful presentation about Hep C in our community by Dante Williams, Hepatitis C Program Coordinator from Caring Ambassadors Program, Inc. You can contact me if you would like a copy of the presentation. If you would like more information on his organization’s work, he encourages you to visit http://www.caringambassadors.org/

We invite all WHARP and community members to take part in the WHARP Survery, which you can find here: https://forms.gle/tpnNaMkARychZjmP9
Taking the survey is a great way for your voice to be heard and to have a stake in the future of WHARP. We are excited to hear your ideas on how WHARP can improve the health of the community!

02/08/2019

02/07/2019

We would love to hear from you about your experience with WHARP! Whether you were able to attend the last meeting or you've never been to a meeting, we want to know what you would like to see WHARP focus on at our next meeting. Follow the link below to take our survey:

Thank you for completing this survey. Your responses are anonymous and will help us improve future WHARP meetings.

02/07/2019

Not able to attend our January meeting? We missed you!

You can access the fantastic presentation on U=U we heard from Allison Precht, Director of Preventive Health & Education at the CORE Center, by emailing Marissa Korte at mkorte@lafchicago.org.

You can also find some links below to important new information on the understanding of HIV in Chicago.

1. CDPH 2018 HIV/STI Surveillance Report 2018 HIV/STI Surveillance Report.
See Page 18 Figure 1.3 which includes:
- 2016 Rate of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Chicago area by Community Area.
- Austin Neighborhood is listed as #25, and is in the category with the second highest rates of people living with HIV/AIDS in Chicago.

2. CDC MMWR report emphasizing the disparities related to sustained viral suppression and transmission risk among persons receiving HIV care. This also speaks to the issue of community viral load as discussed yesterday.

02/01/2019

Interested in learning more about WHARP? Feel free to contact our membership chair, Marissa Korte, for information on our meetings, membership, community engagement opportunities and more. Contact Marissa via email at mkorte@lafchicago.org or by phone at 312-229-6056.