Ryan Peck, Executive Director of HALCO recently emailed the OAN Membership to inform us about the recent cuts announced to Legal AID Ontario. The good news is that HALCO’s services to date remain intact. He urges everyone to please continue referring clients, including for immigration and refugee law services. As soon as there are more details, he will keep the Membership informed. In the meantime, there are still things that can be done: Send a letter to the Federal Government regarding immigration and refugee law services (see template) Send this form email, from your personal email accounts, to the Ontario Government asking

Our new Executive Director, Shannon Ryan, has had his first days at the OAN last week! It’s been busy, to be clear, but Shannon wrote a letter to our Membership outlining some intentions for his leadership: “As you know, my transition into this role will take place over the next two months. While my time in the office will be limited, I will be checking email and voicemail regularly and will respond to urgent issues as required. I have a number of goals over the next few months. The first is to engage with the OAN staff team and board to

The OAN has moved! We have a new mailing address although our phone number and emails have not changed. Our new mailing address is: 252A Carlton Street, Toronto, M5A 2L5 In addition, the OAN and the Gay Men’s Sexual Health Alliance (GMSH) are welcoming Michael Kwag, Jose Patiño-Gomez and Amir K. Bachari from the Community-Based Research Centre (CBRC). The CBRC is a non-profit charitable organization that promotes the health of gay, bisexual, queer (cis and trans) and Two Spirit men through research and intervention development. While their main office is located in Vancouver this shared space will serve as a satellite Toronto office (with their other locations in Edmonton

The Ontario Harm Reduction Network (OHRN) is hosting a series of webinars entitled Trans Awareness: From the Basics to Beyond. Improve your toolbox during PRIDE MONTH! These webinars will provide a foundation of knowledge to work better with trans and non-binary peoples and communities. The Basics Webinar, (offered both June 4 & 6, 2019, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm) will centre around language inclusive of trans/non-binary people and discuss many complex issues trans/non-binary folx face. The Beyond Webinar, (offered both June 11 & 13, 2019, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm) will take the conversation further with an in-depth look at issues affecting how and why trans and non-binary

Regional HIV/AIDS Connection (RHAC) board of directors would like to announce the release of their organization’s position statement on sex work. Over a two year period, the board of directors of RHAC consulted with a range of stakeholders, in addition to reviewing evidence-based research to inform our position. This consultation/education included: persons with lived experience those who advocate from an abolitionist position individuals and organizations that oppose the criminalization of sex work those concerned about the conflation of sex work and human trafficking RHAC has taken a position that aligns with their organization’s harm reduction philosophy. Their position recognizes that criminalization of

The OAN will be closed from April 26 – May 1st while we set-up and acclimate to our bright new space! During this time, we should have access to email, but there will definitely be a period of time without any telephone or internet access while the cables and technology service providers finish their installation. This also means there will not be a newsletter on April 26th – but we will return to regular programming in our May 10th edition. Thank you for your patience, and we look forward to welcoming visitors soon!

The GMSH is looking for actors for two video vignettes they are producing to educate Ontarians about U=U. Hurry! The auditions are Monday and Tuesday of next week! Click here for more details. CATIE is on the lookout for “magnetic couples” (those who are serodiscordant) from in and around Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver and who also want to be part of a U=U video campaign. They will have a similar feel to Buzzfeed videos like this. Interested? Click here for more details!

The Kiki is a bi-weekly, 10 session workshop and drop-in space for guys into guys who PNP (Party N’ Play) or like chemsex hosted by ACT in Toronto. The Kiki aims to provide harm reduction knowledge for the PNP community, while providing participants with a shame & stigma free space to build and bridge community, promote self-care, advocacy and health. The Kiki is unique in that there is no goal setting or monitoring of sober days as part of these activities. Access to new harm reduction supplies will be provided during each workshop. Sessions are open attendance and are facilitated by two ACT

The OAN was asked to provide a statement for the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights on Monday, April 9th on the topic of HIV Criminalization in Canada. National Coordinator of the Positive Leadership Development Institute (PLDI), Martin Bilodeau, presented before the committee following the completion of a national statement with Richard Elliott, Executive Director of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network. Many thanks to these two gentlemen for their work, and a hats off to Martin for presenting remotely while on vacation in Paris! Bravo!

The OAN has found an amazing new office space! After 5 years behind mirrored window panes overlooking Jarvis Street, the Ontario AIDS Network and the Gay Men’s Sexual Health Alliance (GMSH) will be moving to a bright, accessible space, around the corner in Toronto’s Cabbagetown neighbourhood. Our new address information will be shared as soon as we have settled into the space – by May 1st! We are looking forward to sharing the next chapter of the OAN & GMSH with you!