February is Black Futures Month and Black History Month. Tell us about events in your areaThroughout the month, we will be sharing information about events happening across the province. Send us the details and information about your events and communications happening near your and we will share them in our February 5 newsletter. Email content and questions to Precious Maseko by February 4, end of day.  Sign up to receive episode 4 of Step Forward on February 1, and checkout the OAN’s resources for addressing anti-Black racism in the HIV sector. 

Elevate NWO has launched a new education series focusing on helping community agencies, businesses, and individuals create welcoming spaces for people living with HIV. Through a combination of social media posts and Facebook Live discussions, the series spends time unpacking HIV stigma, how it impacts people living with HIV, and how to address it within organizational policy, culture, and individual action to create safe and welcoming spaces. Series DetailsThe series runs from January 12-February 11, with educational posts dropped every Tuesday on Facebook and Instagram, and live discussions every Thursday at 2pm. Follow Elevate NWO and this series at https://www.facebook.com/elevatenwo/

Greetings OAN members and affiliates,  As the Co-Chairs of the Board of Directors of the Ontario AIDS Network, we wish you all a Happy New Year! We hope that 2021 will be a productive, safe and rewarding year for us all as we continue to work together to support and strengthen our communities. As we venture into 2021, we want to share with you an important update regarding the long-term strategic goals of the OAN. Specifically, that we plan to extend our existing April 2016 to March 2021 Strategic Plan until March 2022. In March of 2020, our board had

This has been a year of uncertainty and challenge and loss. Throughout 2020, in the face of multiple epidemics, the Ontario AIDS Network and its members stepped up and worked together to continue operating in an increasingly uncertain world.  Since the arrival of COVID-19, the OAN and its members have taken quick action to support one another, share resources, and convene sector-wide discussions to guide our shared response. We have gathered together in new ways to exchange information, collaborating to reshape our work and create the resources needed to continue adapting to this new reality.  Looking back on 2020, the

Each year on World AIDS Day (WAD), December 1st, the Regional HIV/AIDS Connection (RHAC) acts on the opportunity to raise awareness, show support for people living with HIV, and remember the lives of those lost to AIDS-related illnesses. Join RHAC on December 1st at 7 pm for a World AIDS Day Virtual Vigil featuring co-host and musical guest Jully Black.  Please go here to RSVP and here to learn more about Jully Black.

Join Pozitive Pathways Community Services in celebrating World AIDS Day 2020 as they come together across communities in solidarity and support of people living with, affected by, or at risk of HIV. Here are some activities to look forward to:  Join Pozitive Pathways for AIDS Awareness Week between November 22nd and December 1st as they share educational resources distributed by CATIE. In celebration of their Global Solidarity and Shared Responsibility, they will be distributing a “Schedule of Events” for World AIDS Day virtual events across Ontario. Please use this resource to join the World AIDS Day events with any of their partners at the Ontario AIDS Network. Pozitive Pathways are also delighted

2020 has been a particularly challenging year for Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario as it has for all of Ontario. With strict social-distancing requirements, many of us cannot hold our usual World AIDS Day  events, which is why this year, Elevate NWO and the OAHAS Thunder Bay site have decided to bring their event into a virtual space. The one silver lining of doing it this way is that geography is not a barrier. Many more people can participate online and they extend an invitation to everyone across Ontario to join the virtual memorial event. This event will promote HIV/AIDS awareness and remind

Asian Community AIDS Services (ACAS) is pleased to invite all its stakeholders to this year’s Virtual World AIDS Day (WAD) event on December 3rd, 2020. The celebration includes a series of podcasts entitled “Love Fierce Positive Asians,” a continuation of the successful first series from WAD 2019. The series will discuss the intersectional experiences of Asian PHAs such as gender identities, navigating life with a caregiver, fatherhood, and being a refugee. ACAS will also be launching their first online community forum ACAS SEED25+,  focusing on HIV+ pioneers and AIDS activists who planted seeds at ACAS and have helped shape their growth for more than 25 years!  ACAS is also planning a

Join the AIDS Committee of Ottawa (ACO) for AIDS Awareness Week between November 24th and December 1st. ACO will be raising awareness about the most relevant topics in the HIV landscape right now, including HIV Self-Testing, Anti-Black Racism, HIV, and COVID-19. ACO will be releasing a look-back slide show of pictures from the last 5 years from City Hall to Parliament Hill and will release a World AIDS Day video! Stay tuned for these exciting events on their social media platforms. To learn more check for updates on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Join CATIE, the Ontario Harm Reduction Network, and the Ontario Harm Reduction Distribution Program for an upcoming workshop called: Ontario Overdose Crisis and the Impact of COVID-19.  Date: Wednesday December 2, 2020Time: 11:00 amWhat to expect Ontario, like other provinces in Canada, continues to face an escalating overdose crisis compounded by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which has increased the risk of fatal overdoses. The pandemic has also influenced the types and the purity of drugs people are consuming, and limited access to support services. This webinar will explore what various data sources in public health, drug surveillance and harm reduction can tell