RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, the Puerto Rican Cultural Center has served the Puerto Rican/Latino community of Chicago with steadfast distinction for 45 years; and
WHEREAS, the Puerto Rican Cultural Center lives its conviction that a community must bridge self reliance and communal responsibility summed up in its motto: To live and help to live; and
WHEREAS, the Puerto Rican Cultural Center realized that vision in 1988 when it created its cherished project, Vida/SIDA, as an intentional response to the AIDS pandemic disproportionately was ravaging the Puerto Rican/Latino populations of Chicago's Latino Communities; and
WHEREAS, This esteemed body has been notified of Vida/SIDA's contributions by the Honorable Roberto Maldonado, Alderman ofthe 26th Ward; and
WHEREAS, Vida/SIDA has been a culturally relevant harbor for people suffering marginalization and isolation due to their HIV/AIDS status during the darkest moments ofthe pandemic in Chicago; and
WHEREAS, in the 1980s, several funeral homes refused to accept bodies of people who succumbed to AIDS, many landlords refused to rent to those they thought had AIDS, Vida/SIDA threw open its doors to all who were suffering and offered free, alternative health treatments, as well as a critical space where their humanity was affirmed - all in the heart ofthe Puerto Rican community; and
WHEREAS, Vida/SIDA successfully incorporated volunteers from among those it served, and these volunteers became crucial to the evolution and growth of Vida/SIDA; and
WHEREAS, Vida/SIDA evolved into an agency that now offers testing and counseling, preventative education, and wrap around services for those who are living or at risk for HIV; and
WHEREAS, Vida/SIDA created separate programs such as the Helen Rodriguez Trias Health Center to address substance abuse and mental wellness; TRANS Chicago, a program for the Transgender communities; El Rescate LGBTQ Transitional Housing and LGBTQ Drop in Center that serves youth ages 14-24 years old; and...
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