Ontario’s HIV sector continues its conversation about our collective work towards Truth and Reconciliation. The Reconciliation Working Group composing six non-Indigenous AIDS service organizations: AIDS Committee of North Bay and Area, Elevate Northwest Ontario, The Gilbert Centre, the Ontario AIDS Network, Pasan, and Réseau Access Network, with support from Oahas, is working to provide guidance and tools for the sector on how to do the work of reconciliation. It’s the goal of this group to arrive at a consensus on what that work should look like, thus continuing the difficult work of reconciliation with Indigenous people in their communities. The Working

Make sure your voice is heard in the 2019 federal election on October 21st.  Ontario’s HIV community has an important opportunity to let all candidates, parties and voters know that the response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Canada requires strong federal leadership. Let your vote count for meaningful targets and investments in testing, treatment and a strong and well funded front-line response. We also need federal leadership to address the criminalization of non-disclosure and ensure a safe drug supply. So far, it seems to be a close election with no obvious outcome. This is a perfect opportunity to let your voice be heard

We’ve asked OAN Board member and Gilbert Centre staff Randy Davis for an update on the Ontario leg of the Slay Stigma Tour. “Never eat shredded wheat? Never eat salty worms? Never ever soggy waffles? Whatever mnemonic device you use for North, East, South and West summarizes the Ontario leg of the POZitivity Campaign’s Slay Stigma Canadian Drag Tour. From getting snowed out of the stop in Sudbury after a Winnipeg storm, this group of six (Trinity, Randy, Garry, Alanna, Jordan & Ken) still managed to fit in 8 Ontario shows as part of the cross country anti-stigma tour. Starting

Moyo Health and Community Services and the 2SLGBTQ+ Collaborative of Peel Region would like to take this opportunity to invite you to the Adjust Your Lens 2019 Forum on Monday, November 4, 2019 at William Osler Health System – Peel Memorial Centre for Integrated Health and Wellness, Brampton. Communities and organizations have been collaborating in Peel to stand up for marginalized communities and provide leadership on many social justice issues. In 2017, the 2SLGBTQ+ Collaborative of Peel was formed to address the non-profit sectoral gaps in order to improve inclusion in workplaces and encourage compassionate service provision. Adjust Your Lens Forum is

Regional HIV/AIDS Connection’s (RHAC) annual Red Scarf benefit concert celebrates its fourth year proudly featuring bülow! Join RHAC on Friday, November 22, 2019 for a night louder than stigma as they celebrate, honour and remember those living with, affected by and at-risk for HIV/AIDS in their region. Visit redscarf.ca for tickets and information on their Red Scarf ‘pop-ups’ and support them in raising awareness and ending stigma!

The AIDS Committee of Windsor (ACW), the Windsor Essex Community Opioid Substance Strategy, neighbourhood community groups, and the voices of people impacted by substance use are introducing a new travelling community display to officially launch the “Label Me Person” Anti-Stigma Awareness Campaign. The purpose of this campaign is to increase awareness about the opioid crisis through personal narratives of people impacted by substance use. The campaign and display will also provide opportunities for the community to participate in 24 educational workshops addressing topics of harm reduction, opioids and naloxone, and consumption and treatment services. The campaign will look to engage

Are we all on the same page about when a person who is at high risk should get an HIV test? There are new HIV testing recommendations in our province for persons who are at higher risk for contracting the virus. It’s recommended that after a high risk exposure, a first test should be done three (3) weeks after that exposure. At that point the P24 (P24 is a protein on the surface of the HIV virus) antigen test can detect parts of the virus in the blood. There is also some evidence that tells us that point of care tests

The OAN will dedicate its next Newsletter to promoting World AIDS Day (WAD) events in Ontario. This is an important moment for the OAN and our members to reflect on the invaluable contributions we make in preserving health, creating community and fighting stigma. If you would like your event posted in our November 22nd newsletter, please provide a paragraph of no more than 4 sentences and any associated graphic you would like posted. Kindly send these to Hope at hramsay@oan.red by Wednesday, November 20th at 5pm.

The Peel Harm Reduction Committee, in collaboration with the Peel Integrated Drug Strategy, is hosting its 7th Annual Drug Awareness Week Forum on November 21, 2019. The Drug Awareness Week forum is a space for productive dialogue to build on successes from previous years and to further engage service providers. This year’s Drug Awareness Week Forum is about developing strategies from an intersectional lens to support people who use drugs. To learn more and to register for this event, please go here.

Our amazing staff team is busy planning for the future. We sat together earlier this week to plan our work for the next 18 months and we have some big goals to accomplish. Our new Operational Plan ensures that we have clearly articulated goals for our agency and for our team. There’s so much to look forward to as we plan for PLDI expansion, a refresh of the Honour Roll, the strengthening of our Skills programming and an OAN commitment to structured Reconciliation work. We look forward to supporting our Members and PLDI grads in new and exciting ways. Stay