Chatham church partners with LGBTQ+ organization to provide free HIV testing

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Wednesday is National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.

A South Side church has partnered up with local LGBTQ+ organizations to provide free HIV testing.

The partnership is between New Covenant Missionary Church, Howard Brown Health and Pride in the Pews. It is the first of its kind for the Black community, and together they're tackling the shame that can come with HIV and facing it head on.

"People think that HIV is a death sentence, and the reality is you can live just as long as any body else, but you have to prioritize your care," said Howard Brown Health Associate Director terra Campbell

Campbell has lived with HIV for the last nine years. She's working to change the stigma in Black neighborhoods.

Black Chicagoans make up 47% of HIV and AIDS cases in the city, according to date from Howard Brown Health.

"When a Black patient comes into your clinic, you should be offering them HIV tests," Campbell said.

That offer is a reality at New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church, where the head pastor took the test himself.

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The partnership is bridging the gap between faith and health.

"I'm inviting to church, the church to not start with theology, but to start with humanity," said Don Abram with Pride in the Pews.

Abram is the Executive Director of Pride in the Pews, an LGBTQ+ nonprofit that provides training to churches. He said stopping the epidemic in the community means getting more churches to open their doors.

"If you hear a message from the pulpit, it often reaches not only those in the pews, but those in the community as well," Abram said.

Those who come to a screening will also receive resources after the test, such as counselors and doctor appointments. Their mission is for more people to know a healthy life is possible.

"Come here so you really know what HIV and AIDS is about, not the myth," said Michell Thompson with New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church.

The HIV screenings will be held at the church from 9 a.m. to noon on the first Sunday of every month.