The Indigenous COVID Pathways Phoneline can be reached at: 437-703-8703 4pm – 9pm, 7 days a week – hours to increase in the coming weeks There are special considerations for Indigenous populations with respect to COVID-19 testing and isolation including historical and ongoing breaches of trust, attitudinal and systemic racism by healthcare providers and high rates of inadequate/unsafe housing, displacement and social disconnection. As a result of longstanding discrimination and social exclusion, Indigenous people may be more likely to avoid seeking testing or care for COVID until symptoms are advanced. The Indigenous COVID Pathways Phoneline has been established to advance

Are you in need of some good news? There’s great work happening in ASOs across the province and they are stepping up to contribute to the food security of people living with HIV. Super agencies like Black CAP, Casey House, the Toronto People with AIDS Foundation, the AIDS Committee of Durham Region and others across the province are working to ensure that the bellies of our community are full. Thanks all for your amazing work.

Dear PLDI Leadership Grads, We sincerely hope that you are doing well and finding some moments of peace and comfort in light of all that we are having to do as communities to keep ourselves and others safe at this time. The PLDI team is thinking of you and hopes that you are taking care of, and being gentle with, yourselves when you need to be. The  PLDI Team has been quite busy this year and the program is moving from strength to strength.  Our most recent training was a pilot Facilitator’s Training held in February, with twenty-six participants representing

These are uncertain times where we’re increasingly isolated and disconnected and this has an impact on our mental health. The ABRPO has collected a number of mental health resources meant to help folks cope during these challenging and high anxiety times. Go here for new and emerging resources.

If you’re new to the sector or want to brush up on some essential skills, then you might want to check out the HIV Resources Ontario Essentials Guide. Found here, the Guide is meant to build capacity in Ontario’s HIV sector by establishing a common core curriculum. This work may be one of your most rewarding, challenging and meaningful work experiences; we certainly hope it will be. But there’s a lot to learn and thankfully there are many resources available and some great ones have been assembled in the Essentials Guide.

The Women & HIV/AIDS Initiative (WHAI) recently launched their new website! Utilizing an online space for sharing information and centring the voices of women, WHAI’s website includes updated features such as an in-depth overview of WHAI work and areas of focus, relevant resources, community events calendar, and community news. WHAI invites you to explore their website and connect! Go here to check it out!

Are you in need of some good news? There’s great work happening in ASOs across the province and they are stepping up to contribute to the well-being of our communities. The AIDS Committee of Ottawa (ACO) delivers Food Bank Fridays where they feed up to 70 folks who pick up much needed food supplies. The ACO team has done an amazing job of setting up a food bank pick-up system that gives access to this basic necessity to their community members. ACO also delivers food to those who are unable to come to their office. Asian Community AIDS Services (ACAS) is

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.

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

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