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 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 [...]

March with ACAS in the Pride Parade on Sunday, June 25 Join the largest contingent for East & Southeast Asian queer & trans folks in the Pride Parade! Partners and allies are welcome. Bring your own water, bells, whistles, and noisemakers, but most of all, bring YOUR PROUD SELF! Group Number: B13 Meet up point: Northeast corner of Isabella & Jarvis at the Rogers Sign Pillar, https://goo.gl/maps/dnF1hXP4m8DtoSQP9 Meet up time: 1:30pm-2:00pm (before moving to the parade starting line) Group in front of us: Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention Group behind us: The Home Depot Canada *We are not having a float this year and only walking. It will be crowded and it could get difficult to find us. We will have an ACAS sign on a pole. If you are late to meet us at our meet up point, then you can find us near the starting point along Bloor St and Church St and look for either B13 or the other groups we are situated in between. You will NOT be able to join when the parade begins as the barricades will be back this year to block off people from entering along the route. We are at a later time this year, so expect a longer wait at the starting point. When we walk along the parade, please continue to move and not leave large gaps as it holds up the whole parade. We cannot stop to take photos for too long as it creates large gaps. We encourage you to bring your own water in a reusable bottle, however there will be water available along the route. We may bring limited water bottles to reduce waste.               If you cannot walk the whole route, get tired, or overheated, there are exit points along the route [...]

- June 9: Outreach at UofT Pride Pub (in-person) - June 10: Pillow Talk (virtual) - June 10: Support Program's Pink PRIDE (In person) - June 14: Friends of Ruby BIPOC Drop-In (in-person) - June 14: RUBY Pride Play field trip (in-person) - June 16: "Swipe Right" Discussion (virtual) - June 21: Karaoke Gaysian Pride Party (in-person) - June 22: QTAY Pride Picnic (in-person) - June 25: Pride Parade (in-person)  More information is available at acas.org/calendar/month/

In collaboration with Realize Canada’s Workplace REVAMPED project, ACAS is looking for 15 2SLGBTQ+ East and Southeast Asian folks with episodic disabilities in the workplace to participate in a focus group or 1-on-1 interview; specifically looking at barriers related to working and living with episodic disabilities An episodic disability is marked by fluctuating periods and degrees of wellness and disability. This includes: anxiety, bi-polar disorder, depression, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and Parkinson’s. More examples of episodic disabilities can be found through the sign up link. All participants will be compensated $75 via e-transfer.  Please use the link or e-mail Gabriel Marie at research1@acas.org receive the link to sign up for a focus group or 1-on-1 interview. Since space is limited, select participants will be contacted to confirm their participation. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Gabriel Marie. Sign up link: https://forms.gle/Z7mZsZABiSqMwG3R9 (Image Description: The image has text describing what an episodic disability is and how you can participate. The background has a variety of pastel colours spray painted onto it with images of 3 people’s faces and a hand showing how episodic disabilities can impact folks mentally, emotionally and physically)

Please register for the forum below if you are one of the people listed above and are interested in discussing the Positive Asian diasporic experiences in Canada and the U.S. Details Dates/Times (6:00 pm to 7:30 PM EST) Topics Register  Links More details November  29, 2022 Understanding Health Equity for Positive Asians Clinical trends and holistic health care needs of Asians living with HIV: An HIV treatment/access point of view     https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEpfu6trjssGdVfwj_POL_CRd1TLVDYmZ18 Dr. Tseng works as a specialist consultant at the Immunodeficiency Clinic, Toronto General Hospital and is an Associate Professor with the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto. She has published extensively on drug interactions and adverse reactions, and is a Chief Editor of a website/mobile app on HIV and hepatitis C pharmacology and drug interactions (http://app.hivclinic.ca). Dr. Tseng is a co-founder of the Ontario HIV Pharmacists Specialty Group and the Canadian HIV and Viral Hepatitis Pharmacists Network. She is a Fellow of the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists and is credentialed as an HIV Pharmacist through the American Academy of HIV Medicine. Dr. Tseng is a recipient of the Hall of Distinction Alumni Award (2020) from the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, recognizing her significant achievements in the profession of pharmacy. Anthony Mohamed is the Senior Specialist, Equity & Community Engagement, St. Michael’s Hospital, where he has been since 1995. On leave since 2015, he is an active leadership volunteer with many community initiatives including the Senior Pride Network, Myeloma Canada and a study on the relationship between HIV and Cancer. He has specialized skills in facilitation, mediation, policy development, project management, research, community partnerships and strategically applying an intersectional anti-oppression framework. His Masters of Environmental Studies (YorkU), specializing in “cross cultural community health promotion” emphasizes his commitment to equitable care for all. [...]