ACT e-Bulletin Vol. 3 No. 4

The ACT e-Bulletin
Nov./Dec. 2008

Welcome to the early winter edition
of the AIDS Committee of Toronto's e-Newsletter. We hope you enjoy our news!

If you'd prefer not to receive the e-bulletin by email, simply click the unsubscribe link at the bottom.
A message from Lori Lucier
Lori LucierDear friends of the AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT),

As some of you may already know, I have made the difficult decision to leave my position as Executive Director of ACT to pursue a new opportunity.

Over the past eleven years, I have been honoured and privileged to work with an
incredible team of staff, board members, community leaders, volunteers and people living with HIV. I am grateful for all that you have shared with me, and I am hugely proud of all we have accomplished together.

I truly appreciate the community support shown throughout my time at ACT, through countless individuals and organizations contributing their time, energy and funds to make our work possible. In a field where everything is constantly changing - from funding and treatments to the needs of people living with HIV/AIDS - the consistent involvement of the community ensured that we never lost sight of our mission.

I have experienced a great deal at ACT, and have many memories to take with me - advances in our work, victories in our struggle against HIV, but most importantly, far too many friends lost.

I look forward to bringing all I have learned at ACT to my new position at the Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network, and to all that I will take on in this next phase of my life. Although I will no longer be at ACT in an official capacity, I will remain a committed supporter until we achieve a world without AIDS.

Take good care,

Lori Lucier
Outgoing Executive Director

The ACT Board of Directors has appointed Glen Brown, a management consultant who has been active in the HIV/AIDS community for many years, as the Interim Executive Director. The Board will be launching a search for a new permanent Executive Director in the coming weeks.
ACT Annual General Meeting
Join us for our Annual General Meeting (AGM) taking place Monday, November 24, 2008 in the Thomas Lounge of Oakham House (63 Gould St, Toronto). A light supper will be served starting at 6:30pm, followed by the AGM.

The AGM will include the presentation of our "Years of Service" awards for staff and volunteers who have served for 5, 10 and 15 years.

Finally, the evening includes a panel discussion featuring Tim McCaskell (AIDS Action Now!), Renee Lang (HIV/AIDS Legal Clinic of Ontario and member of ACT's Board of Directors) and Angel Parks (Coordinator of ACT's Positive Youth Outreach Program) focussing on HIV/AIDS activism and advocacy over the past 25 years.

To confirm your attendance at the supper, please contact Jessica Gelberg at 416.340.8484 ext. 282

This event is open to everyone; however, only ACT members will be allowed to vote at the AGM. For more information about the ACT AGM visit: www.actoronto.org/AGM
NOW Readers' Poll
Best of T.O.NOW Magazine Readers think we're the best!

The AIDS Committee of Toronto has been voted "Best Activist Organization" by the readers of NOW magazine. NOW is Toronto's alternative news and entertainment source. Recently, ACT came second in the category of "Best Community Organization" in the XTRA! magazine readers poll. XTRA! is Toronto's source for lesbian and gay news.
ACT Library Survey
We need your input!

The AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT) Library is doing a survey to find out how the library is being used. We also want to find out what kinds of HIV/AIDS information and library services people are interested in, even if they've never used our library.

If you've ever tried to find information related to HIV/AIDS at the ACT Library or elsewhere, and would like to help us understand your needs and experiences, please fill out one of our surveys.

The survey will be available in the ACT office and online from October 20 to December 20, 2008 and will take approximately 10 to 15 minutes to complete. Your survey answers will be kept confidential. Everyone who completes a survey will also be invited to enter their name for a chance to win a photography package, which includes an art photography book and 2 general admission tickets to SNAP! 2009.

To access the survey online, visit the ACT Library at www.actoronto.org/library. For more information about the survey, contact the ACT Library at library@actoronto.org or at 416-340-8484, ext. 303.
HIV Stigma Campaign
HIVstigma.comACT staff and outreach volunteers are helping to disseminate the provincial anti-HIV stigma campaign targeted to gay and bisexual men. The campaign features the message: "If you were rejected every time you disclosed, would you?" It rolled out across the province in late October with heavy media buys and also includes a small outreach and education component. The campaign will be supported by the distribution of materials through ACT's Community Information Boards and Condom Dispenser Networks. The campaign has been developed by the Gay Men's Sexual Health Alliance with input from ACT staff, and is funded by the provincial AIDS Bureau. The campaign website is www.HIVstigma.com
Fall 2008 Joint Volunteer Outreach Training
Outreach VolunteersJoint Volunteer Outreach Training (JVOT) equips volunteers for 3 primary program areas - Gay Men's Outreach, Portuguese Speaking Men's Outreach, and Harm Reduction Outreach for Gay Youth and Men. The training was expanded over 3 weeks to include field training at Halloween festivities for the first time. A total of 15 graduates successfully completed the JVOT training and are being placed in various programs to augment ACT's volunteer outreach capacity.
Annual Outreach Volunteer Recognition Awards
Last year, awards and a recognition event were organized to honour the hundreds of hours of service provided annually by Gay Men's Outreach (GMO) volunteers. GMO volunteers deliver HIV prevention and sexual health promotion outreach into bathhouses, bars and special events, and supply our Condom Dispenser Network. They also participate in the new GMO Program Volunteer Assistant program. This year's recognition event will be held on December 13th and will be expanded to include outreach volunteers from ACT's merged Harm Reduction - Gay Men and Youth program.
Community Naturopathic Clinic
Naturopathic medicine can help people living with HIV/AIDS in a number of ways. Naturopathic doctors can lessen the side effects of medications as well as support the body through a variety of different avenues like botanical medicine, acupuncture, homeopathy, clinical nutrition, etc. Services are free and confidential.

Sherbourne Health Centre, 333 Sherbourne Street, 1st Floor
To make an appointment, call 416.324.4187

The Community PHA Naturopathic Clinic is operated as a collaborative program of the AIDS Committee of Toronto, the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine (CCNM), Sherbourne Health Centre and the Toronto People with AIDS Foundation. The clinic is an educational setting where CCNM senior interns work under the supervision of a licensed Naturopathic doctor.
Upcoming Community Health Forums
Open discussions for people living with HIV/AIDS. Free admission. Registration is not required. Child care subsidy is available.

November 27:
Stress and Anger Management for People with HIV/AIDS (PHAs)

Guest Speakers:
Bob Wallace, Social Worker, David Kelley Services Volunteer
Wendy Cameron, MSW, RSW, Bridgepoint Hospital
Jocelyn Watchorn, RSSW, Counsellor, AIDS Committee of Toronto

Buffet at 6:30 p.m.
Presentation 7 - 9 p.m

Where:
Metro Toronto YMCA
20 Grosvenor Street (one block north of College and Yonge)

December 10:
Updates from HIV/AIDS World Conferences, including Mexico 2008: The Latest News

Guest Speakers:
John Goodhew, MD. HIV Primary Care Physician
David McClay, PhD: Managing Editor, Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange (CATIE)

Dinner will be served at 6:30pm.
Presentation 7 - 9pm.

Where:
Ramada Hotel
300 Jarvis Street (Carlton/Jarvis)

For more information about ACT Community Health Forums, please contact Robin Rhodes at 416.340.8484 ext. 219 or rrhodes@actoronto.org
Brazil Film Festival Screening
CazuzaThe AIDS Committee of Toronto and the Brazil Film Festival are partnering to promote the film Cazuza: O tempo nao para (English: Cazuza - Time Doesn't Stop), to raise awareness about HIV/ AIDS.

The film will be screening on November 29th at 6:30 pm at the Isabel Bader Theatre, as part of the Brazil Film Festival in Toronto.

The film tells the story of one of the greatest singers in the history of Brazilian rock music. Cazuza was one of the first celebrities in Brazil to be open about his sexuality and his HIV positive status.

He fought to survive, and his openness about being a person with AIDS helped to change public perceptions and attitudes about HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in Brazil.

Now almost 20 years later, we hope that this movie will create awareness in the Portuguese-speaking community in Toronto and to all that see the movie (there will be English subtitles).

ACT also will have an information table at the screening to promote our program and prevention materials developed for the Portuguese-speaking community in Toronto.

For the chance of winning one of three free passes to see the movie with a friend, please send an e-mail with your contact information to: portugues@actoronto.org naming one of the three ACT programs for the Portuguese-speaking community.

Good Luck!