On August 12, the Honourable Filomena Tassi, Minister of Seniors,  announced more than $3 million in new funding through the New Horizons for Seniors Program to support the Gilbert Centre to reduce discrimination and increase social inclusion of LGBTQ2 seniors in Central and Northeastern Ontario. Check out the announcement here. Over the next five years, the Gilbert Centre will work with the AIDS Committee of North Bay & Area and Reseau Access Network to develop coping strategies, engage LGBTQ2 seniors, help them develop strong social networks in their community and provide them with access to appropriate LGBTQ2-friendly services and support.

If you’ve not already done so, please register for this year’s Annual Meeting. (The registration link has already been emailed to Executive Directors to be shared with their delegates) This year’s Annual Meeting will include several  opportunities to engage with the OAN. We’d especially like to remind you about the meeting of delegates who are living with HIV. We have a number of important updates for delegates at this meeting and look forward to sharing a new model for engaging leaders in our sector who are living with HIV. This includes the establishment of a new Advisory Committee of People

Do you know what you need to know about trends in HIV diagnoses in Ontario? Check out the Ontario HIV Epidemiology and Surveillance Initiative’s (OHESI) new report titled “New HIV diagnoses in Ontario, 2017”. The report describes, updates and expands on the trends in HIV diagnoses in Ontario over the past decade (2008-2017) with a focus on new HIV diagnoses in 2017. It presents information by sex, age, race/ethnicity, geographic location and priority populations who are at higher risk for HIV. The report also indicates that there were 916 new HIV diagnoses in 2017 and that new diagnoses have increased

Not that we’re anti-Spam® but … the OCHART team would like to make sure you are getting e-mails from both the OCHART team and the OHTN! Spam filters are great and prevent junk mail from filling up your inbox – but sometimes they filter out important emails. The OCHART team has noticed that quite a few agencies are not receiving their e-mails and they would like you to check in with your IT folks to ensure that @ochart.on.ca and @ohtn.on.ca are on your safe senders list.  This will ensure that you will get all of their communications! If you have

At this year’s Annual Meeting we’ll be presenting an exciting new set of by-laws to our Members. Our old by-laws were often confusing and contradictory, and the OAN Board has drafted a new set that is written in clear and concise language. The new by-law also ensures that our Annual Meeting runs smoothly and includes a number of important revisions that deepen our commitments to GIPA and regional representation. For those that were unable to attend our recent webinar on these changes click here to look at the presentation. If you’ve not already done so, please register for this year’s

The OHTN has just released the 2018 View From the Front Lines Report. The Report provides a detailed look at HIV and HCV services in Ontario. The Report tells us about important trends in Ontario – for instance, did you know that there were 916 new HIV diagnoses in Ontario in 2017 and that one in five of these are women? It also tells us about the value and importance of front-line HIV services and that AIDS service organizations supported more than 5,000 people living with HIV over the year. If you want to better understand the impact of the services

Now more than ever, we are convinced that leadership matters.  It matters in our communities, our homes, our neighbourhoods, our province and in our Member agencies. The OAN is working to make leadership matter and we’ve recently wrapped up our 2019 PLDI training sessions and look forward to 2020. After completing a highly successful PLDI training on communication skills in July, we are now in the process of redesigning our ‘So you want to be a PLDI facilitator?’ training model. We are also working on an online Pre-Governance 101 training for core training graduates who are new to governance. This

Trans PULSE Canada is a community-based survey of the health and well-being of trans and non-binary people in Canada. They have extended the closing date of their survey to allow for others to have their voices heard. To participate in the survey, one must be 14 years and older, live in Canada and have a gender identity that differs from the sex you were assigned at birth. Click here to learn more about and participate in the survey before September 30, 2019.

The Central Opening Doors Conference is an annual event that brings together people from Simcoe/Muskoka, Peel and York regions to gather and share information that strengthens and updates their knowledge and skills.  This year’s conference is entitled No One Left Behind and draws from the U=U message which confirms that by achieving and maintaining an undetectable viral load, HIV cannot be transmitted sexually.  It will be held on Tuesday, September 24, 2019.  For more details and to register for this conference, please go here.

Patients living with HIV in Ontario have rights and the Patient Ombudsman’s team will listen and support the resolution of your complaints about negative health experiences. Although the Patient Ombudsman does not have oversight over AIDS Service Organizations, the office can receive complaints about Ontario’s public hospitals, long-term care homes, and home and community care provided by a Local Health Integration Network. If you are living with HIV and have a complaint about your care in these settings – including experiences of HIV related stigma, discrimination or disclosure – you can find out how the Ombudsman can help you here.