Here are some notable events that were highlighted in March and April: 1. #ACASToronto community forum March 22, venue: Fife House A Conversation about Sex Work 2. ACAS community forum March 28, venue: Fife House Asian, #Aging and #HIV 3. CAAT event, Kenneth speaking at a panel discussion on April 16. We always have fun and interesting events that allow you to participate, so please stay tuned on our social media for upcoming events!
Gay Asian organizations
On March 31, 2024 #ACASToronto hosted Get Your Nails Done! event. We did an intro workshop on techniques of shellac gel manicure and learned about #HIV #SelfTesting . We distributed free HIV self-test kits, and we had some meals together.
Asian Community AIDS Services (ACAS) and Ontario Positive Asians (OPA+) invite you to join us at the 2024 PADENA In Canada Virtual Conference. PADENA (Positive Asian Diasporic Experiences in North America) is a gathering of Asian* people living with HIV, featuring presentations by Asian PHAs, subject matter experts, service providers, peer workers, artists, activists, researchers, and community members. (*Including East, Southeast, South, Middle Eastern/West Asians, and Indo-Caribbeans.) Four online sessions will take place between February and March 2024. To register, please use the links below: Details Dates/Times (7:00 pm to 8:30 PM EST) Topics Register Links More details February 15, 2024 Collective resiliency and the current landscape Poz Asian Action: Global and Local Advocacy Click here for the link Kero Saleib (Collective resiliency and the current landscape) Kero Saleib (they/them- he/him), is an Egyptian born Canadian, Non-binary, Queer, HIV positive, human with a resilience for life. They have worked for over 12 years in the HIV/AIDS sector as program coordinator and counsellor in mental health, sexual health and addictions. They are the founder of Canada's only Queer Middle Eastern party - Middle Eastern Nights, where they get to bring out their drag perona, KeroPatra InDenial. Kero now works within the manufacturing sector as Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility lead, bringing necessary challenges, change and policy implementation to manufacturers and helping them fill the gaps by working and hiring newcomers into the skilled labour workforce. " A Kero of all trades is a master of none but oftentimes better than a master of one." Christian Hui (Poz Asian Action: Global and Local Advocacy) Diagnosed with HIV since the age of 25, Christian Hui (he/they; Undetectable) is a long-term post-HAART survivor, a global HIV/AIDS and U=U activist and harm reduction advocate, and a doctoral CIHR Vanier Scholar [...]
ACAS would like to invite anyone again to join the TSC Toronto Waterfront Marathon this year. Please use this link https://raceroster.com/65909?aff=N34B5, so ACAS will receive the $5 referral donation accordingly. The next price increase is scheduled for Wednesday, September 20 @ 12:00 midnight. Please encourage your supporters to register by Tuesday, September 19; 11:59 PM. Prices will go up at the stroke of midnight! Here is the event schedule: Sep 24 NAME on bib deadline (In-person race) Oct 1 – Oct 31 Virtual Race period Oct 9 Registration Deadline (In-person & Virtual) *if not sold out Oct 13 & 14 In-person Race Kit Pick-up @ TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon expo (Enercare Centre; Hall D) Oct 15 In-person Race Day! Nov 13 Fundraising closes (online closes and offlines entered as a manual donation) Please share this page with people you know or people you think they would be interested in.
We are looking for a Project Lead - Coming Out Resources for Queer and Trans Asian Youth
My name is Justin Anantawan (@justin_anantawan) and I am a gay Chinese-Thai photographer living with HIV. I recently completed a photo project called “Stories of Life with HIV: A Queer Asian Perspective” in collaboration with Where Love is Illegal (@whereloveisillegal), Asian Community AIDS Services (@acastoronto) and The Community One Foundation (@c1foundation). The project took a year to complete and featured stories of 8 members of the ACAS community in Toronto. I initiated this project because I felt that it was important to shed light on the diverse experiences of my peers and colleagues – participants included folks of Thai, Indonesian, Malaysian, Korean and Chinese descent. In Toronto, PHAs are a largely marginalized, stigmatized and underrepresented community. However, Queer Asian PHAs, especially newcomers, face the additional barriers such as lack of access to resources in their native language and social isolation. The aim of this project was to empower the participants to share their stories, raise awareness for challenges facing Queer HIV Positive Asians and show the community that our stories matter. This project was valuable to me because it made me feel closer to my peers. As a Canadian-born person of Chinese and Thai descent, I have often felt like an imposter – I do not know the Thai or Chinese languages and I have still yet to visit my extended family in Thailand. Also, in my work as a photographer, I previously had done many stories on PHAs in Kenya and Gambia – however I had not photographed members of my own community. By interacting with the participants and listening to their stories I was able to gain a new perspective on what it means to be a Queer Asian PHA and draw parallels between their stories and mine. I also made a new group of friends who [...]
"Your donation makes a difference" Donate to ACAS online Since 2017, funding for our Volunteer Program has ceased, but ACAS continues to run the program. Volunteers play an integral role in our organization. At the same time, their volunteer placement fulfills their purpose and needs. It may be acquiring hours for school or work or gaining a new life or employability skills. In addition, ACAS provides a nurturing, fun, and safe space to all our volunteers and service users. Supporting the general fundraiser will help ACAS continue to run the program even without significant funding; it will help us maintain the core training workshops for new volunteers, provide other empowering and skill-building workshops, and host a volunteer appreciation night twice a year. QTAY/Youth + Please Help Revive Women’s Programming It was in 2015 when our Youth Program faced a significant funding cut, followed by the Women's Program. Since then, ACAS has been working diligently to help secure funding for our Youth/QTAY Program and Women's Program's activities. Supporting this fundraiser will help ACAS maintain vital program activities. And to continue hosting PillowTalk as an annual Women's Program event. Pinkdot TOPink Dot is a movement started in 2009 in support of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer (LGBTQ) community in Singapore. Attendees of the Pink Dot events gather to form a giant pink dot in a show of support for inclusiveness, diversity and the freedom to love. Pink Dot has inspired many worldwide to show their support and love for LGBTQ communities. International Pink Dot events have been held in Anchorage, Hong Kong, London, Montreal, New York, Oklahoma, Penang, and Kaoshiung, Utah. The first PinkDotTO , born in the [...]
"Your donation makes a difference" Donate to ACAS online Since 2017, funding for our Volunteer Program has ceased, but ACAS continues to run the program. Volunteers play an integral role in our organization. At the same time, their volunteer placement fulfills their purpose and needs. It may be acquiring hours for school or work or gaining a new life or employability skills. In addition, ACAS provides a nurturing, fun, and safe space to all our volunteers and service users. Supporting the general fundraiser will help ACAS continue to run the program even without significant funding; it will help us maintain the core training workshops for new volunteers, provide other empowering and skill-building workshops, and host a volunteer appreciation night twice a year. QTAY/Youth + Please Help Revive Women’s Programming It was in 2015 when our Youth Program faced a significant funding cut, followed by the Women's Program. Since then, ACAS has been working diligently to help secure funding for our Youth/QTAY Program and Women's Program's activities. Supporting this fundraiser will help ACAS maintain vital program activities. And to continue hosting PillowTalk as an annual Women's Program event. Pinkdot TO Pink Dot is a movement started in 2009 in support of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer (LGBTQ) community in Singapore. Attendees of the Pink Dot events gather to form a giant pink dot in a show of support for inclusiveness, diversity and the freedom to love. Pink Dot has inspired many worldwide to show their support and love for LGBTQ communities. International Pink Dot events have been held in Anchorage, Hong Kong, London, Montreal, New York, Oklahoma, Penang, and Kaoshiung, Utah. The first PinkDotTO , born [...]
My name is Justin Anantawan (Instagram: @justin_anantawan) and I am a gay Asian photographer living with HIV. I recently completed a photo project called “Stories of Life with HIV: A Queer Asian Perspective” in collaboration with Where Love is Illegal, Asian Community AIDS Services and The Community One Foundation. The project took a year to complete and featured stories of 8 members of the ACAS community in Toronto. I implemented this project because I felt that it was important to shed light on the diverse experiences of my peers and colleagues – participants included folks of Thai, Indonesian, Malaysian, Korean and Chinese descent. In Toronto, PHAs are a largely marginalized, stigmatized and underrepresented community. However, Queer Asian PHAs, especially newcomers, face the additional barriers such as lack of access to resources in their native language and social isolation. The aim of this project was to empower the participants to share their stories, raise awareness for challenges facing Queer HIV Positive Asians and show the community that our stories matter. This project was valuable to me because it made me feel closer to my peers. As a Canadian-born person of Chinese and Thai descent, I have often felt like an imposter – I do not know the Thai or Chinese languages and I have still yet to visit my extended family in Thailand. Also, in my work as a photographer, I previously had done many stories on PHAs in Kenya and Gambia – however I had not photographed members of my own community. By interacting with the participants and listening to their stories I was able to gain a new perspective on what it means to be a Queer Asian PHA and draw parallels between their stories and mine. I also made a new group of friends who can relate to my experiences, love and support me. I see this [...]
