Events for November 1, 2024 - November 1, 2024

COVID-19, Anti-Asian Racism & International Activism – the Queer Asian Connections led by Alan Tai-Wai Li, M.D. and Henry “JiaJia” Lam (Director of Communications and Community Engagement, ACHK) Saturday August 22, 2:30pm - 4:00pm EST Starting with our social location as Asian Canadians and our current challenges and work related to COVID-19 anti-Asian Racism, we will draw connections of its broader global politics and our ongoing work on LGBTQ+ activism  in Canada and Hong Kong. There will be a dynamic discussion amongst participants to share experiences and insights of activism in different areas and explore synergistic solidarity strategies. About the Facilitators: Alan Li is a medical doctor, educator, researcher, community organizer and advocate based in Toronto, Canada with over 30 years’ experiences working many marginalized populations including immigrants, refugees, people facing challenges with poverty, service access barriers, mental health and addiction issues, LGBTQ and people with HIV/AIDS (PHA). In addition to working at the Regent Park Community Health Centre as a primary care physician, Alan has taken on leadership roles in many social justice and equity promoting organizations, including as the national president of the Chinese Canadian National Council, president of Gay Asians Toronto (GAT), and as founding president of the Asian Community AIDS Services (ACAS), and the Committee for Accessible AIDS Treatment (CAAT), a coalition working to improve treatment access for and promote leadership of newcomer and racialized PHAs, where Alan has led multiple community-based research studies that led to the development of many innovative health promotion programs and services amongst HIV, sexual minorities, newcomer and racialized communities. Henry “JiaJia” Lam (he/him) is a Vancouver-based writer. A long-time advocate for Hong Kong’s LGBTQ equality and marriage equality in an artistic approach. Co-founder of Gayradio.hk and Primaco Productions. After his relocation to Canada, Lam has since actively write for Hong Kong politics and migrant community. He is Director [...]

Transmasculinity & Dating (This session is only for trans men and trans masc folks) led by Caiden Sunday August 23, 1:00pm - 2:30pm EST About the Facilitator: Caiden is an engineer who is transitioning to medicine. He has also transitioned to live as a man since 2014, and has been involved in various community work. Admission is free. Registration required at: www.surveymonkey.com/r/slam2020This event is for East and Southeast Asian gay, bi, queer cisgender and transgender men living in and near Ontario, Canada. The SLAM! Forum (Sex Love Asian Men!) is an interactive learning forum on sex, health, relationships, and lifestyle for self-identified for cis & trans gay, bi, queer East and Southeast Asian men. For the SLAM Forum: Hindsight 2020, we will share, learn, and connect together in our experiences through multiple online sessions held throughout the weekend of August 21-24. For your convenience, you can attend as many sessions as you'd like. To protect the safety and confidentiality of our community, the sessions will not be recorded. An electronic giftcard will be given to each attendee after they complete the session's evaluation. This event is funded by ViiV Healthcare

Sex and Mental Health: An Intersectional Approach for Gay Asian Men led by Judy Lui, M.Sc., CCC., RP Sunday August 23, 2:30pm - 4:00pm EST Judy will be spending the first portion discussing her experiences of working with LGBTQ+ folks in York Regions, specifically speaking to the experiences of East Asian and Chinese client's experiences in therapy and more intimately the topic of working with gay Asian men. The second half of the session will be an opportunity for participants to ask questions and share their own experiences. About the Facilitator: Judy is the founder and director of Your Story Counselling, a individual, couple, family, trauma, and sex psychotherapy clinic located in Vaughan Ontario, with both online and in office session options. As a passionate ally to the LGBTQ+ community Judy has dedicated her work to be inclusive of the experiences of the LGBTQ+ community, especially those also of Asian and/or other ethnic minority descent; understanding that the complicated and beautiful layers of those lived experiences as something important to hold space and healing for. Judy continues to engage in the LGBTQ+ community in her psychotherapy work by offering reduced fees for those that identify as LGBTQ+ and/or of a ethnic minority status. Judy is also a regular contributor to PFlag York region, having sponsored galas and charity events in the past. Admission is free. Registration required at: www.surveymonkey.com/r/slam2020This event is for East and Southeast Asian gay, bi, queer cisgender and transgender men living in and near Ontario, Canada. The SLAM! Forum (Sex Love Asian Men!) is an interactive learning forum on sex, health, relationships, and lifestyle for self-identified for cis & trans gay, bi, queer East and Southeast Asian men. For the SLAM Forum: Hindsight 2020, we will share, learn, and connect together in our experiences through multiple online sessions held [...]

Advances in PrEP & PrEP Access at the Maple Leaf PrEP Clinic led by Andy Mok, RN Monday August 24, 7:30pm - 9:00pm EST Wondering if PrEP is right for you? Have questions or concerns about how to access PrEP in Toronto? Not sure if you can afford PrEP on a monthly basis or if your insurance covers PrEP? Come join this session to learn how the Maple Leaf PrEP Clinic can support your PrEP needs. Participants will learn about the difference between daily PrEP vs. "On-Demand" PrEP, in addition to exploring different avenues on accessing PrEP regardless of your visa status and/or financial situation. About the Facilitator: Andy has been working as a community and primary health nurse for the past two years. As an Asian gay man, he is committed to making a positive impact in the Canadian healthcare system by advocating for equitable rights and fair treatment of marginalized groups, such as LGBTQ+ and people living with mental illness and/or HIV/AIDS. Working in the community setting, Andy proactively raises public awareness of the negative impact of stigmas on the health of affected individuals and communities. He engages in stigma reduction training with the goal of becoming a nursing leader and champion to address social stigma and health inequities. Admission is free. Registration required at: www.surveymonkey.com/r/slam2020This event is for East and Southeast Asian gay, bi, queer cisgender and transgender men living in and near Ontario, Canada. The SLAM! Forum (Sex Love Asian Men!) is an interactive learning forum on sex, health, relationships, and lifestyle for self-identified for cis & trans gay, bi, queer East and Southeast Asian men. For the SLAM Forum: Hindsight 2020, we will share, learn, and connect together in our experiences through multiple online sessions held throughout the weekend of August 21-24. For your convenience, you can [...]

Your Friday nights at home just got a little better! Looking to meet new friends during the pandemic? This is the first of a monthly online games night for Asian gay, bi, queer, cis and trans guys We'll focus on one game for the night. Feel free to drop in and out between 8pm - 9:30pm EDT   Email Ryan at men@acas.org for the Zoom link.

This event is for Asian gay, bi, queer, cis and trans men. This month's Humpday is a THURSDAY (October 1st) with a special guest sharing his personal experience on starting his own OnlyFans venture. This local Toronto gaysian has grown quick in popularity, reaching the top 2.8% tier of all creators in only his first two weeks! Arvin will be giving us his insights on what it takes to bare all to make some extra money. There will be time to ask your questions at the end. Thursday, October 1 7:00pm - 8:00pm Register by emailing Ryan at men@acas.org for the Zoom link

Dear ACAS Support Program Clients and Caregivers, Hope you all are taking care of yourself in this challenging time. To continue with our self-care series, we are excited to invite you to our Thai Massage workshop on October 1 (Thursday), 2020 from 7-8:30PM on Zoom.    We invited Thana, a Thai registered massage therapist to facilitate a workshop for us. Here is the agenda of the workshop: 1. Thana introduction 2. Check-in 3. Background of Thai Massage 4. Breathing technique & meditation 5. Self-massage with Thai massage techniques for common conditions, e.g. backache, headache, office syndromes. 6. Self-stretching & simple yoga poses 7. Self-care suggestion & summary 8. Q&A If you wish to participate, please contact Alex at support@acas.org. The workshop will be conducted in English. We hope this workshop can give you another option to practise self-care, connect with your body and relax. See you there.

Dear Fellow Gay Asians 40+ members: It has been months since we last met and our last gathering cancelled due to the pandemic...we hope you are all doing well. We miss you all! At a recent town hall gathering for LGBTQ+ community co-sponsored by ACAS and Project PROTECH, many of our members identified the wish to stay connected virtually, so here we are: We would like to invite all of you to join us on a virtual reunion social networking session on Friday October 2nd, from 6-7:30 p.m. It would be in time to celebrate the mid-Autumn festival, a time to be reunited and reconnected. Let us connect, catch up with each other and chat about how we can best stay connected and support each other going forward! Please join our virtual reunion on Zoom. Contact Ryan at men@acas.org for the Zoom link or if you have any questions. Looking forward to meeting you all! Best, Midnight Lotus Organizing Committee Midnight Lotus (formerly know as Gay Asians 40+) is organized by former members of Gay Asians Toronto (GAT) and sponsored by Asians Community AIDS Services (ACAS). Through regular social events and educational activities, our group aims to provide a forum and community support to gay Asians who are 40 plus.