Events for November 14, 2024 - November 14, 2024

ACAS and OPA+ would like you to join PADENA Second Session from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm Epidemiological trends of Poz Asians in Canada and the US: Gaps and Opportunity To register to join this event, please go to https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcodOuvqDIjEtAhwjQZa2AR6a7hCnQTGXFv Cecilia Chung, Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives and Evaluation at Transgender Law Center, is an internationally recognized leader who advocates for HIV/AIDS awareness and access to care, LGBT equality and equity, and human rights. Cecilia has been a vocal advocate for transgender women and people living with HIV. Currently, Cecilia is a member of the PCB NGO delegation at UNAIDS. Cecilia has served many roles in the HIV movement including, the Board of the Asian Pacific Islander Wellness Center, being a founding producer of Trans March, she organized one of the world’s largest annual transgender events which has since been replicated in cities across the U.S. and s member of Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. In 2015, Cecilia launched Positively Trans, a national, constituents-led project that focus on policy advocacy and leadership development of transgender people living with HIV, especially transgender women of color. Dr. Chum is the Canada Research Chair (tier 2) in Population Health Data Science at York University, and an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. Drawing on the disciplines of social epidemiology, geospatial analytics, and machine learning, Antony’s research investigates the social and environmental determinants of health and evaluate policies to build healthier cities and communities, especially for marginalized groups such as the homeless, low-income, racialized, and LGBTQ2S+ people. His research approach combines population health data sciences, methods in causal inference, and the application of rigorous social theories (e.g. intersectionality, social ecological theory, minority stress theory, etc.) to evaluate interventions/policies aimed at eliminating health disparities.

Date: Thursday January 19 Time: 8:00pm - 11:00pm Location: Spa Excess (105 Carlton St) Asian Night is back at Spa Excess with SPECIAL GUEST @benoitmonet from OnlyFans! You can also check him out on Twitter as @benoitmonet25 Cum to relax, meet new guys and have some fun. Our volunteer team will be there to create a welcoming and friendly environment while getting you connected with resources on PrEP and HIV/STI testing. Coupon for 50% off lockers available by contacting Ryan at men@acas.org Join our bathhouse volunteer team by emailing Ryan at men@acas.org

🌈 LINK TO REGISTER: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1iiPcZS6qGOLAFutXukb0JybCxsuAnGVJEdvFMwxAG-s/viewform 🖍️ 💙 When: Saturday, January 28th 💚 Time: 4-6pm EST 💜 Location: Online (Zoom) Embark with WYR Peer Educator Winsome on a journey to ENVISION 2023 together! 🤩 Let's materialize our excitement for the new year of 2023 by making vision collages together! Vision collaging (also known more commonly as Vision-boarding) is a fun and tangible way to set intentions for yourself, your goals, and values for any pursuit or timeframe! 🕐 You're invited to create alongside or to simply enjoy the chill vibes, as Winsome conjures up her own visions for 2023! A follow-up list of suggested supplies and accessible options will be sent to you, with more details to come! ✨ Folks are welcome to join this virtual QTAY Zoom workshop for Vision Collaging on Saturday, January 28th from 4-6pm EST. If you have any questions or concerns, or would like more information, please email Dany at youth@acas.org. See you soon~! [Image Description: Both images have text describing the event above. The first image background is a colourful paper collage with sticker elements like firecrackers, flowers, and stationary. The second image depicts Winsome as a turquoise Animal Crossing cat character with a speech bubble over a simpler cool toned collage.] #QTAYEvents #QTAYToronto #ACASToronto #AsianYouth #QueerAsian

Hong Fook Youth and Family Services partnering with ACAS to run a monthly LGBTQ+ peer support program for Asian LGBTQ+ youth ages 18-29. 👉 WHEN: January 31 👉 TIME: 6:30pm - 8:00pm EST 👉 WHERE: Zoom 👉 REGISTER: email Moshe at msakal@hongfook.ca The peer support group offers a space for youth to connect and share their experiences around a variety of topics relevant to their lives, including LGBTQ+ and mental health. Together we create a supportive, non-judgemental environment that inspires hope, healing, and change.

FREE for East & Southeast Asian gay, bisexual, queer cis & trans men You don't need to be a professional artist to express yourself! Start date: January 26 Postponed to February 2 Dates: Weekly, every Thursday for 6 weeks until March 9 Time: 6:00pm - 7:30pm Location: ACAS (260 Spadina Ave, Unit 410) Chinese buns for snacks will be provided. Free art supplies will be provided. We encourage participants to attend all 6 sessions. Sign up at: https://forms.gle/syzgX9fKRAzrcLe98 These Expressive Arts Therapy sessions are provided through Hospice Toronto with a focus on the experiences of gay Asian men. This group takes place in a safe and meaningful environment where warmth, trust, and non-judgment abounds. Topics may include coming out, body image, sexual racism, family, dating, etc. The purpose of this group is to provide gay Asian men with a safe place where they can express themselves through a variety of art modalities, share their stories, express their grief, and explore their feelings in a non-threatening way by: Remembering the past Redefining the present Re-creating the future Our goals for expressive arts are to: Enable the expression of fear, anger, anxiety, and sadness through the arts Encourage the expression of deep inner feelings and thoughts Discover and tell the untold stories Provide an opening for both present and unresolved losses Find ways to say goodbye, speak unspoken words Provide opportunities for sharing memories and experiences of loss Provide support in a non-judgmental environment

🏮 When: Saturday, February 4th 🏮 Time: 2-4pm EST 🏮 Location: Online (Zoom) Register: https://forms.gle/6NQXUwpL5QGkWa3u9 With the Lunar New Year on its way, let's hop right into it with Vale! 🐇 Many of us are used to seeing or even receiving red envelopes on the New Year and other special occasions, but what does it really mean, and how does it relate to us as queer Asians? Vale will be exploring these questions with us and guiding us through how we can queer the red envelopes for ourselves! Join us as we navigate its meanings, histories, and connections to our identities as queer Asians in this thought-provoking, creative exercise. You might even end up with a red envelope or two at the end of the night! Supplies to make your own red envelope with us: - Decorations: paint markers, regular markers, pens, stickers, glitter, etc - Writing utensils - Print and cut the digital instructions ahead of time, if you’re able (they will be sent to you via email closer to the date of the event) - Scissors - Ruler & pencil/eraser if you can't prepare ahead of time - Tape and/or glue If you have any questions or concerns, or would like more information, please email Dany at youth@acas.org. See you soon~! [Image Description: On a purple-red gradient background, there are depictions of red lanterns, red envelopes, and a rabbit celebrating the Lunar New Year. In the middle is a red circle with golden patterns and information about the event above.] #QTAYEvents #ACASEvents #ACASToronto #LunarNewYear #QTAYToronto

Did you eat yet? 👉 When: Sat. Feb. 4, 2023 👉 Time: 6:30 pm - 7:30pm EST 👉 Location: Online (Zoom) Register at: https://forms.gle/cGZ7m9sdkoK2cHrH8 Hey friends! We’re bringing back the Digital Dinner Club as part of our new 2023 youth mental health program and we’d like to introduce you to our program coordinator Greg! Come on by, eat your dinner with friends and say hello! We’d love to meet you and hear your ideas. If you have questions of concerns, or would like more info, you can email Dany at youth@acas.org or Greg at community@acas.org Hope to see you there!

Dear Supporters, Sponsors, and Community Members, You are cordially invited to our ACAS Seed25+ community forum on Monday February 6, from 7-830PM on Zoom. The topic is :'PERSPECTIVES IN INTERGENERATIONAL EXCHANGE' Join us for a lively discussion about qualitative research, chemsex, coffee, activism, perpetual students, 2nd and 3rd careers, mentorship, student government, harm reduction, trans visibility, PHA solidarity, looking for work, working sh*t jobs, white corporate wellness, ancient wisdom, standing on shoulders, and learning and unlearning. Monday, February 6, 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m  (via Zoom) Our funny wise gorgeous panelists: Bradley Hampton-Wallis Loreto Macaraeg Jaye Garcia Moderator: Ambrose Fan To register please contact: Alex Ma (support@acas.org) Generously sponsored by Viiv Healthcare

ACAS and OPA+ would like you to join PADENA Third Session from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm Topic: Arts-based activism and research: More Than Fiction 1, 2, & 3 Meaningfully engaging Poz Asians to support the sharing of their experiences within a culturally-safe space To register to join this event, please go to https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0lc-muqj0pGtPHxJ92YUg0CclrukGVn-eg Neel or Shaz sabeth is curious and excited about which direction their life is heading in. They love community and have been working in the hiv and AIDS sector for 10+ years. neel or Shaz is grateful to the OPA+ of which they are a member for requesting their participation in this event.   Justin Anantawan is a Toronto-based HIV activist, social worker, teacher, musician, and photographer of Chinese and Thai Descent. Justin frequently travels overseas for outreach work in the LGBTQ community and PLHA community. Most recently, he worked in The Gambia with Actionaid, creating a social media platform for sexual health information and working directly with MSMs to provide safe sex supplies and HIV testing. He also works regularly in Toronto with Asian Community AIDS Services. As a photographer, he contributes regularly to publications such as Where Love is Illegal, One Day in My World and National Geographic Yourshot.