If you wanted to know about the latest goings on at ACAS you’ve come to the right place.
If you are interested in a particular topic use our categories selecting function to see updates related to that topic! Here we like to share news, event info, past events and our impact on the community!
Internal Condom Campaign 2017
The internal condom, also known as the female condom, also known as FC2 is a nitrile based condom that is inserted into the vagina or anus. While bulky on first look, it can be an effective, and sexy way to protect yourself against STIs, HIV, and pregnancy. In my research, I have found a general sour disposition towards the internal condom. The Atlantic actually published a very interesting article in 2016 regarding the unpopularity of FC2. However, the positive aspects of being able to negotiate safer sex regardless of your genitals and protection against HIV and STIs is a huge sexy plus. Here are the sexy and less sexy details: The condom has a two rings, each designed to keep the condom in place. The inner ring can be removed depending on what kind of sex you're choosing to have. If you're having vaginal sex, keep the ring in -- if anal, ring out! The ring is helpful to remain secure in your vag. It's made out of Nitrile! Which means it's LATEX-FREE! Talking to you, folks with latex allergies. Fun fact! FC1 - the precursor to FC2 - was made of polyurethane and the switch was made to nitrile because a major complaint of FC1 was that it made a lot of distracting squeaking or rustling. The internal condom can be inserted up to 8 hours before sex. Eight. Hours. Which can mean no more stopping mid foreplay to get a condom on. On perfect use, it has a 95% rate of effectiveness. In real life, it's about 79%. External condoms with perfect use are 98% effective at preventing pregnancy. In real life, it averages to 82% rate of efficacy. The internal condom is capital E - Expensive. Luckily for you, ACAS gives them out for free! Here is also a [...]
TUHF Funding Cuts
A letter from our Executive Director regarding the TUHF funding cuts and it's drastic impact to ACAS' services and community.
Thai Internship Update
April 17, 2017- After a 6 month internship in Thailand, Som Kong and Thompson Nguyen, the ACAS youth interns bid farewell to P. Yen and her team at Thai National AIDS Foundation. TNAF is currently promoting the "AIDS - Almost Zero Campaign". Brian Ly, our ACAS men' s program coordinator also visited TNAF that day! We welcome home our interns (eventually)!
Spring is here…
Spring is upon us! At ACAS it's been a busy start to the new year. If you ever want to check out what has been going on at ACAS please check out our Facebook album Spring@ACAS 2017 for the recap of some of the ACAS happenings!
JOB POSTING: Asian PHA Resilience Dialogue Project Coordinator
Asian PHA Resilience Dialogue Project Coordinator JOB POSTING We are looking a person who is passionate about serving their community to run an innovative pilot project titled: “Asian PHA Resilience Dialogues” (APHARD). The project is a collaborative project of ACAS, ASAAP (Alliance of South Asians AIDS Prevention) and OPA+ (Ontario Positive Asians Network). The project intervention is adapted from the Asian MSM (men having sex with men) Resilience Dialogues intervention that was developed through rigorous community based research processes and has shown positive results in promoting various domains of resilience in a pilot of Asian MSM including PHAs (People living with HIV/AIDS). The project aims to engage a group of Asian PHAs to be trained as co-facilitators to deliver and evaluate the APHARD interventions to 2 groups of Asian PHAs. The lessons learnt will inform support and health promotion programs of all our collaborating partners. DETAILS: Asian PHA Resilience Dialogue Project Coordinator Part time Contract Position Type of Contract: 10 month, part-time (Total 210 hours) Application Deadline: Friday, March 31, 2017 (midnight) Interview date: During April 1-15, 2017 Wage: $25/hour + vacation pay Starting Date: April 17, 2017 Responsibilities Work in collaboration with the project team, the project coordinator will: Coordinate process of updating the training curriculum Obtain research ethics approval as required Outreach and promote the project to target community members Recruit participants for the training Organize 2 series of training with the total of 30 participants Organize train-the trainer sessions for 4-6 peer participants Coordinate collection of all project statistics and data for evaluation Organize participant focus group and feedback session Coordinate development of project report and action plan Qualifications Lived experience as a person living with HIV and member of the Asian communities Demonstrated commitment to anti-homophobia, anti-oppression, and healthy sexuality Excellent interpersonal, and communication skills Demonstrated skills [...]
Staff attended ABRPO Survive and Thrive Workshop
Earlier this month ACAS staff attended ABRPO Survive and Thrive workshop facilitated by the talented Yvette Perreault. Thank you to Yvette for guiding us through loss and transitions in such an impactful way!
HIV & Criminalization in Canada Dinner Session
Join us for an ACAS-HALCO FREE educational session on HIV and Criminalization in Canada Presenter: Ryan Peck, Lawyer and Executive Director at HALCO http://www.halco.org/ Tuesday, February 21, 20176:30-8:30 p.m. at ACAS offices, 260 Spadina Ave. #410. Light dinner served at 6:00 p.m. In Canada, people living with HIV are being charged and prosecuted with serious criminal offices - even when there is no intent to cause harm, no transmission occurs and the risks of transmission are negligible if not zero. Why does Ontario continue continue to unjustly prosecute people living with HIV?
JOB POSTING: Women’s Outreach Program Coordinator
JOB POSTING Women’s Outreach Program Coordinator Type of Contract: Part-time (22.5 hours/week), short-term Application Deadline: Wednesday, February 15, 2017 (midnight) Interview Date: During the week of February 21-24, 2017 Contract Duration: 4.5 months See PDF for details!
JOB POSTING: Asian PHA Resilience Dialogue Project Coordinator
JOB POSTING We are looking a person who is passionate about serving their community to run an innovative pilot project titled: “Asian PHA Resilience Dialogues” (APHARD). The project is a collaborative project of ACAS, ASAAP (Alliance of South Asians AIDS Prevention) and OPA+ (Ontario Positive Asians Network). The project intervention is adapted from the Asian MSM (men having sex with men) Resilience Dialogues intervention that was developed through rigorous community based research processes and has shown positive results in promoting various domains of resilience in a pilot of Asian MSM including PHAs (People living with HIV/AIDS). The project aims to engage a group of Asian PHAs to be trained as co-facilitators to deliver and evaluate the APHARD interventions to 2 groups of Asian PHAs. The lessons learnt will inform support and health promotion programs of all our collaborating partners. DETAILS: Asian PHA Resilience Dialogue Project Coordinator Part time Contract Position Type of Contract: 10 month, part-time (Total 210 hours) Application Deadline: Wednesday, February 15, 2017 (midnight) Interview date: During the week of February 20-24, 2017 Wage: $25/hour + vacation pay Starting Date: April 01, 2017 Responsibilities Work in collaboration with the project team, the project coordinator will: Coordinate process of updating the training curriculum Obtain research ethics approval as required Outreach and promote the project to target community members Recruit participants for the training Organize 2 series of training with the total of 30 participants Organize train-the trainer sessions for 4-6 peer participants Coordinate collection of all project statistics and data for evaluation Organize participant focus group and feedback session Coordinate development of project report and action plan Qualifications Lived experience as a person living with HIV and member of the Asian communities Demonstrated commitment to anti-homophobia, anti-oppression, and healthy sexuality Excellent interpersonal, and communication skills Demonstrated skills in coordinating community [...]
Celebrating our ACAS staff and board!
Ready to kick off the new year! Have a great 2017 from of us at #ACAS!