Like so many of the organizations that arose during the AIDS epidemic's early years, the West Side HIV/AIDS Regional Planning Council ( WHARP ) got its start with two simple elements: concerned citizens and a problem.
Several activists, service providers and HIV-positive individuals on Chicago's West Side felt there were considerable gaps between what the community needed and what city planners ordered.
In 1995, local nonprofits and businesses banned together, and the Austin Action Council was born. The multi-member coalition provided input to the Chicago Department of Public Health ( CDPH ) and Ryan White planning bodies.
" [ The members ] felt they could fill the gaps in planning and primary care prevention services," former Chair Beverley Walker-Donley said.
In 1998, the fledgling coalition—which included health centers, direct-care providers, consumers and businesses from Chicago's Austin and Garfield communities—rebranded as WHARP.
In addition to maintaining open dialogue with planning committees, WHARP members spent the next few years collaborating to promote awareness and education. Guest speakers, training sessions and planning panels were regularly scheduled occurrences.
"WHARP was, and still is, probably the biggest thing happening in any one community in the city of Chicago," Walker-Donley said.
Current member organizations include the AIDS Foundation of Chicago ( AFC ) , Austin Health Center, Chicago Black Gay Men's Caucus ( CBGMC ) , Stroger Hospital, CORE Center, Garfield Counseling Center and Legal Assistance Foundation.
In 2000, WHARP extended its outreach efforts with the inaugural legislative breakfast, a then-yearly event where West Side legislators gather for tasty meals and frank discussion.
"We try to make sure they understand what the issues are and how they impact the community," Walker-Donley said. "We [ let them know ] : We need your assistance. We will be coming to Springfield to lobby. We will be asking you for help with the wording of bills … . We will be coming to explain to you what we need and how you can help us."
Each breakfast focuses on a theme; funding cuts have been a priority in recent years. WHARP members—including staff from the CDPH and Illinois Dept. of Public Health—educate legislators on how various issues affect each sector of the community.
Walker-Donley said the breakfasts are valuable networking tools for each party involved.
"We have sitting at the table at WHARP executive directors, pharmaceuticals staff, people from hospitals, and people from city and health promotion organizations," Walker-Donley said. " [ The legislators ] basically rely on us to get them new information … . If they don't understand the services that are needed, they can't assist us."
Though the breakfasts originally operated annually, they are now held every other year due to funding restraints.
Such budget issues were the inspiration for the Quality of Life lottery ticket program, one of WHARP's greatest successes to date. Under the program ( the first of its kind ) , the Illinois Lottery sells Red Ribbon scratch-off tickets, and 100 percent of net proceeds go toward HIV/AIDS prevention services.
The idea arose during WHARP meetings in the early 2000s, Walker-Donley said. Attendees had been kicking around possible solutions for ever-present budget concerns, and a lottery ticket seemed fun and feasible.
"It would give the community another source for funding," Walker-Donley said.
Members of the coalition put together plans, but met heavy resistance in Springfield.
" [ Legislators ] told us: No, I don't think I want to support gaming. That's gambling," Walker-Donley said. "We had to actually come back to the table and rephrase our approach. How can we make them understand the impact that such a devastating disease has on the community?"
The lottery program was unveiled Feb. 11, 2008, by then-Illinois Lottery Acting Superintendent Jodie Winnett, who called the launch "a very long journey."
By the end of 2011, the program had distributed more than $3 million to organizations with statewide reach, including the Chicago Black Gay Men's Caucus, Project VIDA, the AIDS Legal Council and the Cook County Department of Health.
The original bill included a sunset date of Dec. 31, 2012. WHARP members rallied for an extension, and state Sen. Jackie Collins sponsored in early 2011 a bill that would extend the lottery another five years.
"Funding for HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention programs is vitally important given the increasing prevalence and devastating nature of this disease in our communities," Collins said.
At press time, the bill was in committee. State Rep. Karen Yarbrough is sponsoring similar legislation in the House of Representatives.
Moving forward, WHARP will continue to prioritize stigma reduction, continued education efforts and legislative outreach. Coalition members regularly visit barbershops, beauty salons and churches to speak to community members on their level.
"We need to make sure we're not killing each other with stigma and homophobia," said the Rev. Doris Green, WHARP's current chair.
One of WHARP's main concerns for 2012 is condom distribution in prisons—a move that Green said will be essential in reducing community viral loads.
"Sex is happening," she said. "What's happening in prisons on the inside affects our community on the outside. People [ contract the virus ] and return to our communities. We want to make sure it's a public health issue, versus a sex issue."
The coalition lobbied Springfield legislators, hoping to pass statewide legislation.
"We got shot down pretty bad," Green deadpanned. "We recuperated from that, and now we're back trying at the county-level. We'll see what we can get done in [ there ] . The Cook County jail is a little more welcoming because we've already worked with them, so there's more leverage."
WHARP members have met with states that already boast condom accessibility in prison, and have begun piecing together plans for Illinois. Several WHARP members and AFC staffers are working to draft legislation on the county level.
That type of collaboration is what WHARP is all about.
"If organizations are going to be able to get through funding cuts and increases of new infections, we have to come together because resources are shrinking," Green said. "Unless we start pooling our resources, I don't see how we're going to be able to survive this."
WHARP meets the third Monday of every month from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. at 33 W. Lake St.; all meetings are open to the public. For more information, call 773-378-4195, ext. 30.
WHARP member organizations:
AIDS Foundation of Chicago
Austin Health Center
Chicago Black Gay Man's Caucus
Circle Family Healthcare Network
CORE Center
Garfield Counseling Center
Greater Westside Development Corporation
Haymarket Center
Legal Assistance Foundation
Men and Women in Prison Ministries
Prevention Partnership, Inc.
7th Congressional District HIV/AIDS Task Force
Stroger Hospital of Cook County/Connect to Protect Project
This story is part of the Local Reporting Initiative, supported in part by The Chicago Community Trust.
