Two Chicago organizations are among the 26 groups that the Elton John AIDS Foundation ( EJAF ) announced it awarded $1.6 million in grants to in December 2017, according to EJAF's website.
Sex Workers Outreach Project Chicago received a $20,000 grant. A group of Chicago-based sex workers formed the organization in 2007 to build community and address the most pressing issues faced by people in the sex trade.
This grant supports the project's efforts in three main areas to promote community empowerment, resilience and health. They include expansion of the street outreach, expansion of the project's legal clinic, and creation of safe spaces for resource sharing and networking.
Also, the Legal Council for Health Justice ( formerly known as the AIDS Legal Council of Chicago ) received a $75,000 renewal grant. The agency provides free, immediate legal assistance to low-income, HIV-positive people.
The grant supports the ongoing expansion of a medical-legal partnership in which the Legal Council for Health Justice provides free, immediate legal assistance to Howard Brown Health clients.
This final grant cycle brings EJAF's total investments for 2017 to almost $9.5 million.