The Alliance for Healthier Communities has called on their allies to make commitments to addressing the many iterations of white supremacy and anti-Black racism by standing in solidarity with Black people, committing to interrupting cycles of violence and refusing to make this an issue only Black people care about. This is everyone’s business. The Alliance stands with Black people everywhere in calling for faster action to meaningfully confront white supremacy and address anti-Black racism through the declaration of anti-Black racism as a public health crisis and an enhanced accountability infrastructure to address police brutality, police violence and harms to Black

Are you interested in supporting work with Ontario’s African, Caribbean and Black communities and supporting Black-focused and Black-led organizations? Please consider a donation to any of these important initiatives today. To make a donation click any of the following images:

This week the OAN and its Members called on the Province of Ontario to extend the pandemic pay program to cover staff in AIDS service organizations (ASO) who deliver essential front-line harm reduction services. All through this pandemic ASO staff have worked on the frontlines to prevent overdoses, help people reduce the harms associated with substance use and connect those at risk to COVID-19 related supports. We believe that harm reduction workers’ exclusion and ineligibility is arbitrary and deeply inequitable. We thank these workers for their contributions and commitment to the health of some of the most vulnerable people in

Larry Kramer, the man who is inarguably one of the founders of the North American HIV movement, died on Wednesday, May 5th. While many were challenged by his approach and his never surrender attitude, he leaves an indelible mark on our movement. He undoubtedly had a big mouth and a loud voice, a voice that he used to fight the deafening silence of government, pharma and policy makers at the height of the AIDS epidemic. His loud voice spoke for others who were silenced and he told the truth on our behalf. Larry was also one of the founders of

The Gilbert Centre is working on an initiative to not only provide stylish face masks to folx but to also show PRIDE in, and raise awareness of, the U=U message and movement. Mask are available in every colour of the spectrum and can be customized to include your agency’s logo. Masks are available in small, medium, large and x-large. For more information and/or to place an order, please contact Randy Davis at randyd@gilbertcentre.ca

The disruption to essential health and support services, coupled with new mental health and financial pressures, places more burden on our already marginalized LGBTQ2+ communities. The uncertainties of how this pandemic will unfold require action now to help queer and trans communities stay resilient. Since the onset of COVID-19, community organizations have been working hard to shift services and supports online. But government leadership is needed to mobilize new tools for adapting to the pandemic. Now is the time for governments at all levels to strengthen the COVID-19 response among LGBTQ2+ Canadians. In response to this, the CBRC has launched

Have you changed your email address? Do you feel like you’ve not heard from the PLDI in a while? We’re working to update our PLDI database to ensure that our mailing list is accurate. If you didn’t receive an email about the last PLDI check-in session or haven’t received other updates about PLDI, please contact Tara at Tjewal@oan.red.

Thanks to all of the PLDI grads who attended our check-in call a few weeks ago. We look forward to our next session on June 10. The PLDI facilitators met and received your feedback and suggestions and we would like to reconnect with you and create an opportunity for you to connect with others.  And if you missed the last check-in, we hope to see your smiling face on this upcoming one. This next check-in will be longer and a bit more interactive with an activity and we hope as many of you fab PLDI Leaders can make it as

We are very pleased to announce that the Ontario PLDI team is growing! Please join Tara, Joseph and Martin in welcoming our new team members – Benjamin from Central Region, Brittany from Eastern Region, Eno from Western Region, Kendall from Central Region, and Kurt from the Northern Region. Congratulations to you all for being part of our growing and dynamic PLDI team! We’re honoured to have you with us! We know you’re going to be a valuable asset to PLDI and we can’t wait to see all that we will accomplish together. It’s amazing to have such young, fresh and

The GMSH plays a critical role in bridging the gap between health authorities and 2GBTQ+ guys—making sure that information is culturally relevant and effective in the community. Earlier this week, the GMSH collaborated with RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 11 runner up and Canada’s Queen of the North, the gorgeous Brooke Lynn Hytes to bring a message of love and comfort to our community during this difficult time. Watch and share today on Facebook & Instagram.