The Center for Gender, Sexuality and HIV Prevention based out of the Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago is opening a late-night HIV testing site in Lakeview.
According to Peter Freeman, a research coordinator at The Center, the new satellite office is expected to open this fall.
The facility, located at 608 W. Briar Street, will provide HIV testing, STI screenings and linkage to care during the hours when other neighborhood service providers are closed. The site is expected to operate from 8:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m., with outreach workers walking the neighborhood at night.
Freeman said the site is an opportunity for the Center to provide services mandated in three Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) grants without competing with the Lakeview's many service providers.
"I think we're just trying to fill in the gaps that are happening," said Freeman. "Of the testing programs that do happen, there are very few that happen into the later hours of the evening."
It remains unclear exactly when the storefront will open and when it will begin STI testing. The site is ready for HIV testing, said Freeman, but is aiming to start STI testing alongside HIV services in the future.
Children's has had the Briar Street storefront for about a year, said Freeman. Previously, it was used for research.
The site will be working off a portion of three CDPH HIV grants totaling $200,000; one for linking young HIV-positive people to care, another for trans women ages 16-29 and a third for young men who have sex with men on the North Side of Chicago.
Outreach staffers have already hit the streets in Lakeview, spreading the word about the late-night testing services. The site will have drop-in testing hours in the coming months and employ three staffers and a group of volunteers.
News of the Briar Street site comes alongside the Center's anticipated move to Uptown. The Center, headed by Dr. Rob Garofalo houses major HIV research projects based out of Children's. It is currently housed in Children's old Lincoln Park building but announced in the spring it was relocating to a space at 4707-4711 N. Broadway. Freeman could not confirm when the Center would relocate, although it is also expected to move this fall.
In addition to operating in Lakeview and Uptown, the Center is also expanding some its services to Edgewater. Garofalo and others will be administering health services at Chicago House's future transgender housing project in Edgewater.
Freeman said the Center has recognized a growing population of LGBT people in North Side neighborhoods and that it is hoping to expand its reach to more direct services.
"We as a Center, we're really excited to start building a presence in different neighborhoods in the city," he said.
