A team of health researchers from Ryerson University — including this week’s guest presenter for Skills+, Ammaar Kidwai — are currently seeking South Asian gay, bisexual, and queer men (GSAM) to participate in their Not So Micro Study. ​ This study will lead to a better understanding of GSAM’s experiences of microaggressions (subtle forms of discrimination; “You’re cute for a Brown guy”) and its impact on mental (e.g., depression and anxiety) and sexual health (e.g., engaging in non-consensual sex and risky sexual behaviours). Operating from a strengths-based framework, the study will also highlight effective coping strategies used by GSAM in

Did you miss the live Trans Awareness webinars hosted by OHRN? The recordings of Trans Awareness: The Basics & Trans Awareness: The Beyond are now live and ready for viewing! Whether you need a refresher, a deeper dive, or a place to start, these two-part webinars on Trans Awareness can help get you where you need to go. Each webinar is about 2 hours long and requires you to fill out a registration form to gain access to the recording. Trans Awareness: The Basics walks us through current language and issues that many trans and non-binary folks deal with on a

The OAN is excited to announce the dates for this year’s Annual Member’s Meeting, September 19 – 21st, 2019 at the Ramada Hotel in Toronto. Like last year, an evening meeting for PHA Representatives will begin the proceedings, over a closed dinner Thursday night, followed by a full day of Member’s Meetings Friday and OAN Proceedings on Saturday. As you may be aware, the Board of Directors of the Ontario AIDS Network embarked, for the first time in many years, on a comprehensive review of our overly complex and restrictive By-law No. 5. While a detailed account of that process and

Who doesn’t like a survey? We are in the throes of planning for our Leadership Symposium and have already emailed our Membership a link to our Agenda survey, earlier today! For those interested, we are inviting feedback on what we should focus on for our October 30th – November 1st, 2019 Leadership Symposium. Please submit your response by Friday, July 12th. We will be sending registration links to all of our Skills workshops via email to Executive Directors in the coming weeks.  We do this to make sure that only those recommended by leadership are able to register, and to

The OAN is seeking community and organizational input on a new initiative called Reconciliation in Action: A Community Process for the HIV Sector in Ontario. This committee, struck during the October 2018 Leadership Symposium, would like your feedback on a proposed process which organizations in the sector could follow to do the work of reconciliation with Indigenous communities, Indigenous service users and Indigenous partner organizations. The OAN will be hosting a 90-minute feedback session, open to community members and all organizational staff, on Thursday, August 15th from 10am – 11:30am. Join us! Register here.

Deanna Clatworthy, Clinic Coordinator at ARCH in Guleph, was recently profiled in a stellar video produced by the Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario. Have a look!

We are pleased to announce the dates for the next Positive Leadership Development Institute (PLDI) Communications Training. This training will take place July 19th – 21st, 2019 in Toronto. To be eligible, please submit the application form to tjewal@oan.red by end of day Monday July 8th, 2019. Hope you can join us!

PRIDE is getting a lot of extra attention this year, as the we commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the iconic New York City Stonewall Riots of June 28, 1969, an uprising against police brutality and enforcement of racist, homophobic and transphobic discrimination. Many credit this riot and the ensuing rebellion as a turning point for the international movement for 2SLGBTQ+ rights and visibility we now experience as PRIDE. Toronto PRIDE Week also began with a riot. After years of small, community-organized picnics on Toronto Island and demonstrations in front of the legislature, it wasn’t until the day after Toronto police raided four bathhouses on February 5th, 1981

Many thanks are owed to the leadership and organization of the HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario (HALCO) for preparing the following statement to share with our Membership. We thought it deserved a wider readership, as the message is so important and so well articulated. This day, and this type of organizational commitment is relevant both in the work that we do and in our role as inclusive and aware Canadians at large. The message, sent by Executive Director, Ryan Peck, reads: “In solidarity with Indigenous Peoples and in support of Reconciliation, the HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario (HALCO)

The OAN is very excited to announce that following a fulsome partnership with the OHTN, THN, OHRN, CATIE, the GMSH, WHAI, the OODP, ABRPO, ACCHO, PHAC, and CAAT the new HRO website and our long-awaited Core Curriculum project has launched! The Core Curriculum project is aimed at newcomers to the HIV sector who may have questions not only about the basics of HIV, but also about resources and supports available here in Ontario. Best part: It’s completely free! The HRO Essentials Guide contains topics such as HIV basics, harm reduction, GIPA/MEPA, and the goal is to continue to add relevant resources that are free and regionally appropriate, dependant on uptake. Test drive