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CSIH will select up to 25 recipients, each of whom will be provided the grant to cover registration costs for AIDS 2020: Virtual (valued at US$540.00; US$150.00 for student/youth/post-doc). For a full breakdown of registration costs, visit the AIDS 2020: Virtual website . As a part of efforts to secure greater involvement by and meaningfully engage people living with HIV/AIDS, CSIH will be offering grants to individuals fitting the criteria described below.   Application Window Friday, June 12, 2020 – Monday, June 22, 2020 (12:00 pm EDT). Recipients will be notified by Friday, June 26, 2020.   Eligibility To qualify for a Participation Grant, applicants must: Have lived experience with HIV/AIDS (including people living with HIV and people who are engaged in HIV response) Be a Canadian citizen or resident of Canada Be available to attend the AIDS 2020: Virtual from July 6 to 10, 2020.   Evaluation Criteria Participation Grant applications will be assessed for: Demonstration of an affiliation with and/or connection to the HIV community in Canada. Demonstration of tangible benefits from attending AIDS 2020: Virtual, and Capacity to share knowledge gained and lessons learned with a larger community.   Interested applicants should complete the PDF application and return to Priscilla Pangan, Project Officer, at ppangan@csih.org by Monday, June 22, 2020 (12:00 pm EDT).  

Here is the latest ACAS report to update you on what's been going on. If you'd like to be a part of any future programming please don't hesitate getting in touch! Email info@acas.org or any of the program coordinators!

Asian Community AIDS Services (ACAS) stands in solidarity with Black folks around the world, with the families and communities to which Regis Korchinski-Paquet, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery belonged, and with the many others who were and continue to be victims of unjust policing systems. #BlackLivesMatter Please see the following official statement:

Here is the latest ACAS report to update you on what's been going on. If you'd like to be a part of any future programming please don't hesitate getting in touch! Email info@acas.org or any of the program coordinators!  

Hello everyone, The PROTECH project (Pandemic Rapid-response Optimization to Enhance Community-Resilience and Health) is currently looking for volunteers to help our Chinese Canadian communities. PROTECH is a rapid response community-based action project supported by the Government of Canada’s New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF). As the first racialized groups hit by the pandemic, the Chinese Canadians and diasporic communities have experienced increased stigma and racism, further intensifying the vast mental health, economic and social impact shared by the broader Canadian communities. Led by Prof. Josephine P. Wong and Prof. Mandana Vahabi (Ryerson University); Dr. Alan Li (Regent Park Community Health Centre); and Dr. Kenneth P. Fung (University Health Network), PROTECH uses an integrative approach to engage and mobilize real-time responses to reduce the negative psychosocial impacts of COVID-19 on Chinese Canadian communities and address the mental health needs of affected service providers in the Greater Toronto Area. PROTECH builds on lessons learned from the SARS pandemic and focuses on the following key activities: Providing an online resource hub to provide accurate information on COVID-19 and practical coping strategies, with live chat support; Providing an online training to promote mental health resilience for directly affected communities and health service providers; Engage in community mobilization to address stigma and racism, and to respond to unmet and emerging needs. With the recent launch of the PROTECH website (www.projectprotech.ca), we need your help getting the word out to your friends, family, and social media connections to ensure that people who need mental health support can access it in timely manner. Furthermore, we need your help to recruit MORE VOLUNTEERS. As the project builds up, there is an increased need for additional volunteers, including live-chat support agents. This is not only a great way to give back and support an important cause, but it can be something you put [...]

As ACAS is working remotely to provide you services at this time, we wanted to give you updates on what is happening at our agency. If you'd like to be a part of any future programming please don't hesitate getting in touch! Email info@acas.org or any of the program coordinators! At the last movie night we had with AQUA on May 2nd, 2020 we watched the release of the movie The Half of It. ACAS and AQUA chose this new movie that put a queer Asian to the forefront. We watched together with around 10 participants as we reacted and laughed in the group text chat! Stay tuned for the next movie!  

Due to the current health situation, the CAHR 2020 (Canadian Association for HIV Research) conference was held virtually on May 1 and 2, 2020. This years theme was Hope, Victories and Perseverance beyond 2020. ACAS proudly presented a research poster this year and we proudly share it here. A Sip of C.A.R.E was a successful and valued project that helped engage people living with HIV, that had positive outcomes in those that participated.  This project was funded and supported by ViiV Healthcare and Crimson Teas. We would also like to acknowledge Dr. Josephine Wong and Bloom Siriwattakanon for helping with the program. SSP8.13 A Sip of C.A.R.E. for Marginalized East and Southeast Asian Communities in Toronto   Other CAHR 2020 posters can be found at https://www.cahr-acrv.ca/virtual-conferences/posters/

We wanted to share Toronto Public Health's e-poster on Safer Sex during COVID 19, so you can have safer and healthier sex while staying at home! https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/976c-Safer_sex_during_COVID-19.pdf Also featured is an infographic version from our City Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam! www.kristynwongtam.ca/covid19  

Please help us raise funds for our Support Program’s PHA (person/people living with HIV/AIDS) Funds. This Covid19 pandemic has definitely affected a number of not-for-profit agencies and charities including ACAS. A line up of our events since March 2020 that help us fundraise and support some of our programs and services have been postponed and/or canceled indefinitely. With your generosity, it will help us maintain and stabilize funds allocated for our Support Program’s PHA Funds. These funds are accessed by our clients in need particularly during this unprecedented time. https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/asian-community-aids-services/events/please-help-acas-support-programs-pha-funds/ With this fundraiser, we are offering 4 donation tiers. Before selecting your option for a donation type, we invite you to read the following information: 35.00 - 1 mask & $20 donation tax receipt 70.00 - 2 masks & $40 donation tax receipt 150.00 - 4 masks & $90 donation tax receipt 200.00 - 8 masks & $120 donation tax receipt *Shipping and handling is included within Canada / USA*After checkout, please email volunteer@acas.org to let us know of your mask selection. The masks styles we have currently in stock are labeled M1-M12. **Additionally, you can choose to gift this mask to someone. With this option, please email volunteer@acas.org and provide the recipient's name. At this time, we can only send your specially packaged mask(s) gift to 1 shipping address.  THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THIS FUNDRAISING DRIVE FOR OUR SUPPORT PROGRAM!      

THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS! It's National Volunteer Week 2020! April 19-25, 2020 -It’s time to applaud this country’s volunteers. Let’s all cheer for Canada’s volunteers! We are still accepting new volunteers during this time. If you are interested in helping to organize events/workshops, please contact us. We can work together to continue creating safer spaces online for our Asian LGBTQ community Almost 13 million Canadian volunteers deserve our coast-to-coast-to-coast cheers for their dedication and generosity. Let’s all join together to applaud their immense contribution to our country, our communities and millions of our lives during National Volunteer Week (NVW). National Volunteer Week details: https://www.volunteer.ca/nvw2017