The I-MaC (I Made a Choice) project is a collaborative prevention initiative between the Chicago HIV Risk Reduction Partnership for Youth (CHRRPY) and two community-based organizations. CHRRPY created by providers from the Division of Adolescent & Young Adult Medicine at CORE/Stroger Hospital has been serving HIV positive and at-risk youth residing in metropolitan Chicago since 1994. I-MaC is a new project that leverages CHRRPY’s experience providing HIV prevention services, the Division’s care services model and the strong ties of our community-based partners in African American and Latino communities on Chicago’s westside.
Chicago’s HIV epidemic mirrors the current trend of HIV infection where youth specifically minority youth are disproportionately affected. I-MaC is committed to finding undiagnosed, HIV positive youth in order to link and retain them in care as well as prevent new infections among at-risk youth.
How It Works
I-MaC will work with at-risk youth, ages 13 – 24, engaged through community outreach and at the collaborative partner agencies and provide care and supportive services at the Adolescent Medicine at CORE clinic and the Adolescent & Young Adult Clinic at Stroger Hospital which offers a new LGBT clinic session.
Target populations include:
- African American and Latino young men who have sex with men (YMSM) of unknown HIV status
- HIV positive and negative youth, male and female
I-MaC’s program model will be implemented through care facility- and community-based sites. Services include outreach and recruitment; counseling, testing and referral; health education/risk reduction sessions; and core health and supportive services.
Please contact Margo Bell, MD for more information about I-MaC and if you are interested in referring participants @ (312) 864-3579.
The I-MaC project is funded by the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Quality of Life Endowment Fund
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