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Howard Brown Health
Howard Brown Health is a nonprofit LGBTQ healthcare and social services provider that was founded in 1974. It is based in Chicago and was named after Howard Junior Brown.
Howard Brown Health is an organization that focuses on providing health care for people within the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community in several areas throughout the city of Chicago. They are one of the largest health care and research organizations primarily caring for the LGBTQ community in the United States. In addition to healthcare, they also provide a variety of services that include housing, jobs, food, education and more through the Broadway Youth Center and Brown Elephant Resale Shops, which Howard Brown owns.
The Broadway Youth Center helps LGBT youth who are experiencing homelessness or struggling with housing. In addition to providing medical services, the center offers a GED program; high school and college tutoring; assistance in applying for health insurance, food stamps, shelter and jobs; food, clothes and laundry services; refuge and other care to LGBTQ youth.
In 1974, a group of medical students from the Chicago Gay Medical Students Association founded Howard Brown Health Center in response to the rising rates of sexually transmitted diseases among gay men. In subsequent years, and with the advent of the AIDS crisis, Howard Brown developed services including primary medical care, mental health counselling, substance abuse services, prevention and education, research programs and case management. Howard Brown Health Center, named for Howard Junior Brown, was incorporated in 1976 as Howard Brown Memorial Clinic. In the late 1970s, a high rate of hepatitis B among the center's patients inspired Howard Brown to participate in important research studies and vaccine trials against the disease, leading to the first hepatitis B vaccine. Gaining international fame for its research into LGBT health issues, the Center went on to participate in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study, the longest running HIV study, resulting in breakthroughs in AIDS treatment and prevention.
Besides research, Howard Brown helped to set up the Chicago's first AIDS hotline in 1985. It was able to organize medical and psychosocial services to affected members of the community. The Howard Brown Health Center was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in 1991. It was recognized as "the Midwest's leading provider of support services to and for people living with AIDS and HIV disease, and an internationally recognized center for hepatitis and AIDS/HIV research." In 1997, a new facility on Sheridan Road was opened, which included a pharmacy that specialized in AIDS/HIV medications. In 2004 the Lesbian Community Cancer Project moved into this facility, and in 2007 the group merged with Howard Brown Health, becoming an agency project.
In 2004, Howard Brown was administering HIV testing in China. Representatives were sent to look after patients within the Zhejiang Province on the southeaster coast for about two weeks at the bars and brothels. Similar to the other Howard Brown facilities, various health services were provided to patients in need.
In 2006, Howard Brown was selected to lead a joint effort to provide services for LGBTQ senior citizens. Funded by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (now the National LGBTQ Task Force), the initiative combined the resources of Rush University Medical Center, Heartland Alliance, the Council for Jewish Elderly (now CJE SeniorLife), and Midwest Hospice and Palliative Care to create a comprehensive program for seniors in the LGBTQ and disadvantaged communities.
Howard Brown took part in the National Gay Blood Drive in 2014. This event was held to call on the federal government to lift the ban on gay men donating blood, while simultaneously promoting HIV screenings. This ban prevented a whole group of people who would be healthy enough to donate blood. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lifted the ban in 2015, with a new guideline that allowed gay men to only donate blood if they have not had sexual relations for a year or longer. The deferral period was further reduced in April 2020 from one year to three months, with FDA citing concerns with depleted medical supplies during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Howard Brown Health
Howard Brown Health is a nonprofit LGBTQ healthcare and social services provider that was founded in 1974. It is based in Chicago and was named after Howard Junior Brown.
Howard Brown Health is an organization that focuses on providing health care for people within the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community in several areas throughout the city of Chicago. They are one of the largest health care and research organizations primarily caring for the LGBTQ community in the United States. In addition to healthcare, they also provide a variety of services that include housing, jobs, food, education and more through the Broadway Youth Center and Brown Elephant Resale Shops, which Howard Brown owns.
The Broadway Youth Center helps LGBT youth who are experiencing homelessness or struggling with housing. In addition to providing medical services, the center offers a GED program; high school and college tutoring; assistance in applying for health insurance, food stamps, shelter and jobs; food, clothes and laundry services; refuge and other care to LGBTQ youth.
In 1974, a group of medical students from the Chicago Gay Medical Students Association founded Howard Brown Health Center in response to the rising rates of sexually transmitted diseases among gay men. In subsequent years, and with the advent of the AIDS crisis, Howard Brown developed services including primary medical care, mental health counselling, substance abuse services, prevention and education, research programs and case management. Howard Brown Health Center, named for Howard Junior Brown, was incorporated in 1976 as Howard Brown Memorial Clinic. In the late 1970s, a high rate of hepatitis B among the center's patients inspired Howard Brown to participate in important research studies and vaccine trials against the disease, leading to the first hepatitis B vaccine. Gaining international fame for its research into LGBT health issues, the Center went on to participate in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study, the longest running HIV study, resulting in breakthroughs in AIDS treatment and prevention.
Besides research, Howard Brown helped to set up the Chicago's first AIDS hotline in 1985. It was able to organize medical and psychosocial services to affected members of the community. The Howard Brown Health Center was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in 1991. It was recognized as "the Midwest's leading provider of support services to and for people living with AIDS and HIV disease, and an internationally recognized center for hepatitis and AIDS/HIV research." In 1997, a new facility on Sheridan Road was opened, which included a pharmacy that specialized in AIDS/HIV medications. In 2004 the Lesbian Community Cancer Project moved into this facility, and in 2007 the group merged with Howard Brown Health, becoming an agency project.
In 2004, Howard Brown was administering HIV testing in China. Representatives were sent to look after patients within the Zhejiang Province on the southeaster coast for about two weeks at the bars and brothels. Similar to the other Howard Brown facilities, various health services were provided to patients in need.
In 2006, Howard Brown was selected to lead a joint effort to provide services for LGBTQ senior citizens. Funded by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (now the National LGBTQ Task Force), the initiative combined the resources of Rush University Medical Center, Heartland Alliance, the Council for Jewish Elderly (now CJE SeniorLife), and Midwest Hospice and Palliative Care to create a comprehensive program for seniors in the LGBTQ and disadvantaged communities.
Howard Brown took part in the National Gay Blood Drive in 2014. This event was held to call on the federal government to lift the ban on gay men donating blood, while simultaneously promoting HIV screenings. This ban prevented a whole group of people who would be healthy enough to donate blood. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lifted the ban in 2015, with a new guideline that allowed gay men to only donate blood if they have not had sexual relations for a year or longer. The deferral period was further reduced in April 2020 from one year to three months, with FDA citing concerns with depleted medical supplies during the Covid-19 pandemic.