ACT e-Bulletin Vol. 2 No. 3


The ACT e-Bulletin
Volume 2, Number 3 | July/August 2007

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New Board Co-Chair | Spring/Summer Referral Lists | New in the ACT Library | Oral Sex Campaign
Volunteer with Us | Condom Stuffing Parties | Pride Thank You | Anonymous Rapid HIV Testing
ACT-VIVER Video | Wellness Newsletter | Toronto AIDS Walk for Life | Computer Lab Makeover
JavaKnights | Women's Retreat | Positive Wellness Survey Report


ANNOUNCING ACT’S NEW BOARD CO-CHAIR
ACT is pleased to announce that Karim Karsan will join Camille Orridge as co-chair of the ACT Board of Directors. A member of the ACT Board since 2003, Karim carries on the work of outgoing Board co-Chair John Lavis, who is stepping down after three-and-a-half years in the position.

“These are interesting times for ACT and our partners. There are now close to 15,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in Toronto, and many more at risk in different communities across the city. We must constantly develop new and innovative ways to help, now as much as ever,” Karim says.

"I'm thrilled to join Camille as Board co-Chair and look forward to taking on new challenges and opportunities on behalf of ACT and our clients. I'd also like to thank John for his leadership and, in particular, his having led the agency through the process of developing our 2006-09 Strategic Plan [link]."

Karim brings to the board co-chair position a wealth of experience as both a practicing lawyer and a community activist. Called to the Bar of Ontario in 1995, he worked with the Attorney General as counsel to the Metropolitan Toronto Housing Authority until 1997, when he joined the Ontario Alcohol and Gaming Commission (AGCO). Currently, Karim is the Deputy Director of Licensing and Registration at the AGCO.

Karim has worked extensively with community boards, including those of the Toronto Housing Company and the Pride and Remembrance Run. As a member of the ACT board, he has been involved in financial planning and fund development for the agency.

Outgoing board co-Chair John Lavis will continue to serve as a member of the Board of Directors. ACT would like to thank him for his wisdom, hard work, and dedication, and we look forward to his continued insight and counsel for years to come.

Congratulations, Karim, and thank you, John!


SPRING/SUMMER UPDATE OF ACT'S REFERRAL LISTS
Check out the spring/summer 2007 update of ACT’s services and referral lists:

- ACT Services
- HIV Care Doctors in the City of Toronto
- HIV/AIDS Complementary Therapists
- HIV/AIDS Counsellors and Psychotherapists
- - Support Groups, Workshops and Social Support Networks
- Anonymous HIV Testing Sites in Ontario

These lists are available in print in the Access Centre. The list, in its entirety, is available online at http://www.actoronto.org/referral-lists

Please contact Lily at 416-340-8484 ext. 223 or referrals@actoronto.org if you have questions or comments. The referral list update happens fall/winter 2007-08.


NEW IN THE ACT LIBRARY
If you’re interested in learning about other people’s personal experiences with HIV/AIDS, the ACT Library has some great new titles for you to check out:

28: stories of AIDS in Africa / Stephanie Nolen, 2007. CIR 920 NOL TWE 2007

The after-death room: journey into spiritual activism / by Michael McColly, 2006. CIR 920 MCC AFT 2006

My pet virus: the true story of a rebel without a cure / Shawn Decker, 2006. CIR 920 DEC MYP 2006

There is no me without you: one woman’s odyssey to rescue Africa’s children / Melissa Fay Greene, c2006. CIR 920 GRE THE 2006

Their brothers' keepers: orphaned by AIDS / directed and produced by Catherine Mullins, 2005. DVD0016

Drop in and have a look! These titles can also be signed out if you’d like to borrow them. To keep up with what’s new in the library, visit our library catalogue or see our “What’s New” postings every month at www.actoronto.org/library.


NEW ORAL SEX CAMPAIGN & CONDOM/LUBE DOUBLE-PACKS
Want to know more about how to keep yourself and your partner healthy, happy, and horny?

This summer, ACT launched a new safer oral sex resource for gay and bisexual men. Look out for our new Safer Blow Jobs and Safer Rimming brochures and posters online or in bars, bathhouses, and other gay community venues.

We’ve also recently launched new condom/lube double-packs in our condom dispensers around Church Street. Look out for the orange condom packs with the rainbow-coloured picture on them and double your pleasure!

For more information about the Safer Oral Sex campaign, contact Rui at rpires@actoronto.org or 416-340-8484 ext. 247. For more info about the new double packs, contact Duncan at 416-340-8484 ext. 254 or dmaclachlan@actoronto.org.


VOLUNTEER WITH US!
The AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT) needs your help. We’re looking for enthusiastic, hard-working people to help us deliver our vital programs and services for people living with, affected by, and at risk for HIV/AIDS. Training is provided.

Interested?

Attend one of our upcoming Volunteer Information Sessions on July 11 or August 15 at 6 p.m., 399 Church Street, Room 220. Contact Sergio at smartinez@actoronto.org for more info.

We’re also looking for community members and leaders to join our Board of Directors this fall. For more information, please attend our Board Information Session on Tuesday August 14, 2007 at 6:30 pm at ACT (399 Church St) or contact nominations@actoronto.org to request more information.


ANNOUNCING ACT’S SUMMER CONDOM STUFFING PARTIES
Interested in volunteering at ACT? Join us at one of our regular condom stuffing parties! It's easy. It's fun. And your contribution really makes a difference. The condom/lube packs produced are used in our community outreach programs. No previous volunteer experience necessary. You don't have to register. Just show up! Bring a friend!

Our summer condom stuffing parties happen in the ACT Library, 399 Church Street, Fourth Floor from 6 – 8:30 p.m. on July 12 and 26 and August 9 and 23.

For more information, please contact Duncan at 416-340-8484 ext. 254 or dmaclachlan@actoronto.org.


PRIDE THANK YOU
Another year, another terrific Pride Day!

ACT's float in the 2007 Pride Parade won the Toronto Pride Committee award for "Best Celebration of the 2007 Theme — Unstoppable.”

The float, "Unstoppable Services," included great music courtesy of DJ Sumation and was followed by nearly a hundred ACT staff, volunteers, service users and supporters carrying signs promoting our programs and services and red shiffon ribbons.

Thanks to everyone who marched and to all of those who made the float such a great success!

Check out our galllery of Pride Day photos.


NEW ANONYMOUS HIV TESTING SITES & RAPID HIV TESTING
The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care recently announced that it will expand its HIV testing program to include 24 new anonymous HIV testing sites across the province (five in the Greater Toronto Area) and roll out rapid point-of-care HIV testing at all of these new sites, as well as at existing HIV anonymous testing sites in Ontario.

With the expansion scheduled for Fall 2007, people will soon be able to find out their HIV status anonymously and much more quickly than ever before.

There are also plans to roll our rapid point-of-care HIV testing at other locations including sexual health clinics and some community health centres.


ACT-VIVER EDUCATIONAL VIDEO
Thanks to a grant from the Public Health Agency of Canada, ACT and VIVER (the Portuguese-speaking HIV/AIDS Coalition), recently developed a Portuguese-language educational video for individuals and service providers who work with communities at risk for HIV/AIDS.

The video, which focuses HIV/AIDS stigma, discrimination, and prevention in the city’s Portuguese, Brazilian and other Portuguese diaspora communities, includes testimonials by two people with HIV/AIDS in Toronto. They talk about the challenges they have faced since learning they tested positive and the supports that have helped them along the way.

Launched in late June at the Casa do Alentejo Community Centre, the video is available from ACT and VIVER. Contact Fernanda at 416-340-8484 ext. 290 to find out more.


TORONTO PEOPLE WITH AIDS FOUNDATION (TPWAF) AND ACT TO LAUNCH NEW WELLNESS NEWSLETTER
In July, TPWAF and ACT will launch Being Well, a newletter about wellness for people with HIV/AIDS.

The first issue, on complementary therapies, explores this topic from both personal and professional perspectives with a focus on yoga, reiki, and naturopathic medicine. It also included a list of helpful resources if you’re interested in learning more about complementary therapies or want to know how to access them. In this and subsequent issues, registered dietician Stephanie De Maio will answer readers’ questions about HIV/AIDS and nutrition in her “Ask Stephanie” column.

Look out for Being Well at the ACT and TPWAF offices in the second week of July, and online at www.actoronto.org/beingwell and www.pwatoronto.org. Questions? Contact Kristy at kbuck@actoronto.org or 416-340-8484 ext. 234 or Rebecca at rgower@pwatoronto.org or 416-506-1400 ext. 627.


FUNK ’N’ WALK THIS SEPTEMBER
AIDS Walk for Life Toronto is back with a funky new theme this year — Funk ’n’ Walk! Join us on Sunday, September 16 at Church and Maitland Streets for the 19th annual Walk for Life. This year the route is shorter and the party is bigger!

Walk with us through downtown Toronto as we start at Church and Wood Streets, make our way over to Yonge Street, up to Bloor, down Jarvis and through Cawthra Park leading us back to Church and Wood, where we welcome you to unwind at our Retro '70s Street Dance Party and Community Fair.

With increased demand for services and shrinking government funding, ACT depends more than ever on fundraising efforts to provide financial support for the critical services the agency provides to the community. AIDS Walk for Life Toronto generates nearly 20% of ACT's annual revenues — $500,000 in 2006 alone. Clearly, it is more important than ever that we keep walking.

Sign yourself up and send around an email soliciting friends, family and
colleagues! Be the first to start a team with your friends at work. Raise over $500 in individual donations and you could be a Starwalker! Be a part of the excitement – come join the AIDS Walk for Life!

Log onto the website www.aidswalkforlifetoronto.ca for all the information you’ll need.

See you there!


COMPUTER LAB MAKEOVER
Thanks to a grant from the Ontario Disability Support Program, a $1500 donation from Julie Biddle, and vital contributions from staff and volunteers, our Employment Action program was able to renovate the ACT computer lab this June.

The computer lab re-opened on June 28 as a brighter, more user-friendly space for Employment Action clients to learn computer skills and prepare themselves to re-enter the workforce after periods of long-term disability.

Employment Action volunteers Julie Biddle, Pat Black, and Derek Yee contributed over 100 hours of work to the design and implementation of the computer lab makeover, with ACT staff members Don Phaneuf, Grace Chiutsi, and Ned Lyttelton providing support. Thanks also to architect Patrick Fahn, who contributed his expertise for free.

Every year Employment Action provides over 150 computer classes, resumé workshops, and other job training to people living with HIV/AIDS. In the past year alone, Employment Action’s team of 10 volunteer instructors provided 600 hours of instruction. With so much happening in the program, the computer lab makeover is a welcome change. Thanks to everyone who helped out!


THE 2ND ANNUAL JAVAKNIGHTS CENTRE ISLAND RETREAT
Join us at the 2nd annual JavaKnights Centre Island Retreat on Tuesday, July 31 from 7 - 9 p.m. for a picnic and yoga lessons. All are welcome to attend. Complimentary ferry tickets and snacks will be provided. We will meet on the city side of the ferry docks at 6:30 p.m. Please RSVP to javaknights@hotmail.com if you’re interested in attending, and check www.actoronto.org for more details in the coming weeks.


WOMEN'S RETREAT 2007
Are you an HIV-positive woman? Interested in learning about nutrition, self-care, and other strategies for maintaining your mental and physical well-being? Interested in connecting with other positive women? Sign up for the Retreat for Positive Women, an annual weekend getaway for positive women from across the province. Look out for more information at www.actoronto.org in the coming weeks. Registration begins in late July/early August.

Also, if you have an idea for a workshop or activity at the Women's Retreat or are interested in leading an event, share your thoughts with us at womens_retreat2007@yahoo.ca or 416-340-8484 ext. 313.

The annual Women's Retreat for Positive Women is a partnership between ACT, Voices of Positive Women, Casey House and the Ontario Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Strategy.


POSITIVE WELLNESS SURVEY REPORT
This winter, the HIV/AIDS Wellness Advisory Network conducted the Positive Wellness Survey with PHAs in Toronto. The survey was part of the program development and research phase of the Wellness Project.

The full report of our findings is available at here, and a community report to follow in the coming days. Thank you again to more than a hundred people who participated in the survey. Your input has already helped to guide new wellness initiatives at ACT such as “Being Well: The PWA/ACT Wellness Bulletin for PHAs,” nutrition information sessions and the upcoming community calendar of programs and events for PHAs.

Contact Kristy at kbuck@actoronto.org or 416-340-8484 ext. 234 for more information.