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Asian Community AIDS Services calls for Public Support to  Fast-Track to End AIDS with Red Ribbon on the Rocket on World AIDS Day    Asian Community AIDS Services (ACAS) calls on all Torontonians to show their support to Fast-Track to End AIDS (UNAIDS, 2015) with our Red Ribbon on the Rocket campaign on Monday, November 30, 2015, the day before World AIDS Day at various TTC stations. We encourage all to join us this year to show support and commitment to end AIDS and HIV stigma. To raise awareness about HIV and AIDS, ACAS staff and volunteers will be handing out information pamphlets & red ribbons to TTC riders at at Wellesley, Osgoode, St. Andrew, and St. Patrick stations on World AIDS Day eve, Monday, November 30 2015, between 4:00 pm – 6:30pm. Fast-Track to End AIDS is UNAIDS’ theme for World AIDS Day this year, an approach which calls for a focus on the locations, populations and programs that deliver the greatest impact; standing firm on the protection of human rights; and ensuring that leave no one behind. Although working toward an end to HIV/AIDS within the Asian community often continues to be a struggle, ACAS continues to organize concerted community efforts in addressing these on-going challenges. Many community members often do not access information and services for their protection or survival as many still see HIV/AIDS as a taboo subject or feel HIV is an illness that warrants fear or shame. In addition, HIV-stigma continues to negatively impact people of colour; immigrants and refugees; gays, lesbians and trans persons; youth; women; people who use substances; and sex workers---community members whom we serve on a daily basis. On December 1, 1994, Asian Community AIDS Services (ACSAS) was formed when Gay Asians Toronto’s Gay Asian AIDS Project, SEAS Centre’s Vietnamese AIDS [...]

As ACAS wraps up the last month of our 20th Anniversary, we would like to share with you our final #ACASturns20 write-up: A special our tribute by ACAS co-founder and Founding President, Dr. Alan Li, to fellow ACAS co-founder and trailblazer for Asians living with HIV in Toronto, Dr. Kirby Hsu.    

October 2015 has proven to be an especially important and busy month for ACAS. Read on to find out why…   ACAS 2015 Annual General Meeting The ACAS 2015 Annual General Meeting took place on Friday, October 23, 2015. We would like to especially thank our outgoing board members Giovanni Temansja, Joel Tran Bansil, Agnes Tong, Emily Hao, and Gerson Mobo for their time and commitment to our organization this past year. Highlights of the evening included a tribute to ACAS co-founder, the late Dr. Kirby Hsu, by fellow ACAS co-founder Dr. Alan Li. The evening also saw the recognition of our most dedicated volunteers and Team CelebrAsian who helped us raised over $10,000 this past year. We would also like to welcome our new vibrant team of Board of Directors.   ACAS raises $24,172 at the 2015 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Half Marathon and 5k Charity Challenge! Thanks to our team of 32 runners and walkers and our generous donors, ACAS has surpassed our $20,000 fundraising goal and raised a total of $24,172!!! With seven teams competing to raise the highest amount of funds this year, Team CelebrAsian once again raised the most amount of money two years in a row, with a total of $10.400! Our fastest runners at this year’s 5k race are Henry Luyombya with a time of 22’46”, and Anthony Ku Ong with a time of 23’14”. Our fastest staff runner is Christian Hui with a time of 25’17”. On behalf of the ACAS board and staff team, we would like to thank you for supporting ACAS.  Your contributions ensure that we can continue to provide quality services for East and Southeast Asians living with HIV as well as LGBTQ youths in the Greater Toronto Area.    Dine for ACAS at Fabulous Feast – Thai [...]

FROM THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Asian Community AIDS Services (ACAS) would like to invite you to our 2015 Annual General Meeting (AGM) https://www.facebook.com/events/425582124298957/ DATE: Friday, October 23, 2015 TIME: 6:15 to 8:00 p.m. LOCATION: 490 Sherbourne Street, 1st floor Meeting Room, Ph. 416-205-9888. Registration starts at 5:30 p.m. A light dinner will be served at 5:30 p.m. Please RSVP by email at officeadmin@acas.org or by phone at 416-963-4300 by Wednesday, October 21. We look forward to seeing you! Visit: www.acas.org ACAS (Asian Community AIDS Services) provides HIV/AIDS education, prevention, and support services to the East and Southeast Asian Canadian communities. Our programs are based on a pro-active and holistic approach to HIV/AIDS and are provided in a collaborative, empowering, and non-discriminatory manner. Follow us! www.twitter.com/ACAStoronto Like us! www.facebook.com/AsianCommunityAIDSServices

With only 10 days away from the Scotiabank Waterfront Marathon, Half Marathon and 5k, we want to thank all of our 119 donors, our 7 teams and 32 runners/walkers for helping us raise $9,900 so far! As we are almost halfway to our $20,000 fundraising goal, please kindly make a donation or sponsor a team or a runner/walker  to help us reach our annual fundraising target. The simplest way would be to click on the secured ACAS fundraising link and make an online donation right now: https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/FundraisingPage.aspx?RegistrationID=2781968 Donations over $20 will receive a tax receipt. Another way you can help ACAS reach our  $20,000 goal  is to come to our upcoming ACAS Fabulous Feast! Do you want to feast on scrumptious and tasty Thai cuisine for a good cause? Join us at the Dine for ACAS at Fabulous Feast - Thai Edition! https://www.facebook.com/events/1512439322388751/ Date: October 10 Time: 7-9pm Location: Party Room, 256 Jarvis Street, Parking on the street Daniel Le, Richard Utama, and Trisha Steinberg are hosting a Thai dinner party to raise fund for ACAS Toronto Waterfront Marathon and you are invited. Noulmook S., ACAS Executive Director will team up with volunteers to cook authentic Thai dinner for the guests. Enjoy a variety of Thai food: - Green curry - Som Tum - papaya salad - Vermicelli salad - Thai Esarn sausage - Son in law eggs - Thai desserts and more! Suggested donation: $30 . Bring your own bottle (BYOB) You will receive donation receipt! Space is limited! RSVP by Friday 9th! Please contact us to RSVP and any questions/concerns. Richard at men@acas.org Trisha at volunteer@acas.org Noulmook at ed@acas.org With your help, we can reach our $20,000 fundraising goal to raise funds for East and Southeast Asians living with HIV in the Greater Toronto Area and assist with the operations [...]

Only 15 Days Away! Help us reach our $20,000 fundraising goal at the ACAS ScotiaRun Charity Challenge! We would like to thank our 89 donors and 27 runners and walkers for helping us raise $6,840 so far for the 2015 ACAS ScotiaRun Charity Challenge! With only 15 days away, we still have 55% of our fundraising goal to reach. Though time is ticking and getting closer to the race date on Sunday, October 18, there are a number of ways how you can help ACAS reach our $20,000 fundraising goals this year! at the 2015 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Half Marathon and 5k! The simplest way would be to click on the secured ACAS fundraising link and make an online donation right now: https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/FundraisingPage.aspx?RegistrationID=2781968 Donations over $20 will receive a tax receipt. The second way would be to make a donation to a team or runner/walker of your choice: This year, we have 6 teams competing against each other for the top team honour. As of October 3, 2015, Team Fierce & Fabulous is in the lead with $2,505! The following are the team results and the team page link where you can make a donation to the team of your choice or a specific runner/walker of a team: 1) Team Fierce & Fabulous (Women’s Program). Team Captain: Jenny. Goal $5,000. Raised $2,505 https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/TeamFundraisingPage.aspx?EventID=164260 2) Team CelebrAsian (Dr. Alan Li/Keith Wong). Team Captain: Alan Goal $8,000. Raised $1,100. https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/TeamFundraisingPage.aspx?teamID=638625 3) Team Remembrance of Heroes (Support Program). Team Captain: Andrew Goal $5,000. Raised $965. https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/TeamFundraisingPage.aspx?teamID=639632 4) Team ACAS (General ACAS team). Team Captain: Christian Goal $5000. Raised $915. https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/TeamFundraisingPage.aspx?teamID=624643   5) Team RaMen (Men’s Program). Team Captain: Ryan. Goal: $2,000. Raised $780. https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/TeamFundraisingPage.aspx?teamID=639537   6) QAY Naruto Run (Youth Program). Team Captain: Euan. Goal: $1,000. Raised: $75 https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/TeamFundraisingPage.aspx?teamID=640100   The third [...]

August has certainly been a hot month! Did you take part in one or more of the amazing ACAS activities this August? Here is a re-cap of what happened:   Men’s Program Launches ACAS Men’s Program Launches SLAM! (Sex, Love, Asian, Men!) website, a New PSA “HIV Testing: As Easy As Ordering Bubble Tea”, and HumpDAY!   The ACAS Men’s Program launched its new SLAM! (Sex, Love, Asian, Men!) website (http://slam.acas.org/)! About the SLAM! (Sex, Love, Asian, Men!) website: SLAM! is the gay/bi Asian Men’s program created by Asian Community AIDS Services (ACAS) based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The SLAM! website is a hub to curate relevant and interesting information for gay/bi Asian men. ACAS’ Men’s Program aims to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among Asian men who have sex with men by promoting safer sex practices, harm reduction behaviours and early intervention in culturally relevant ways. Interactions with community members through our outreach activities at bathhouses, bars, and other community events have indicated a gap in the sexual health information being provided to our target population, Asian gay/bi men. Further, inconsistent and potentially unreliable or out-of date information is, we believe, contributing to inadequate sexual health-related decision-making among Asian gay/bi men In November 2009, the ACAS Men’s Program piloted a sexual health symposium entitled Sex, Love, Asian Men!(SLAM!) in order to reach a broad audience as well as to identify gaps and barriers in Asian men’s sexual health education and service needs. The symposium was targeted to self-identified Asian gay/bi men from all ethnic backgrounds. Over 30 participants attended the inaugural event, which consisted of three interactive educational and knowledge translation workshops on sexually transmitted infections (STIs), risks, and HIV testing (Sex Without Fear), relationships (Sex and Relationships), and body image (Sex and Body Image).Workshops were facilitated by prominent members of the Asian community. [...]

The ACAS Men's Program announces its launch of its new official SLAM! (Sex, Love, Asian, Men!) website (http://slam.acas.org/) and a new PSA "HIV Testing: As Easy As Ordering Bubble Tea"! About the SLAM! (Sex, Love, Asian, Men!) website: SLAM! is the gay/bi Asian Men’s program created by Asian Community AIDS Services (ACAS) based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The SLAM! website is a hub to curate relevant and interesting information for gay/bi Asian men. ACAS’ Men’s Program aims to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among Asian men who have sex with men by promoting safer sex practices, harm reduction behaviours and early intervention in culturally relevant ways. Interactions with community members through our outreach activities at bathhouses, bars, and other community events have indicated a gap in the sexual health information being provided to our target population, Asian gay/bi men. Further, inconsistent and potentially unreliable or out-of date information is, we believe, contributing to inadequate sexual health-related decision-making among Asian gay/bi men. In November 2009, the ACAS Men's Program piloted a sexual health symposium entitled Sex, Love, Asian Men! (SLAM!) in order to reach a broad audience as well as to identify gaps and barriers in Asian men’s sexual health education and service needs. The symposium was targeted to self-identified Asian gay/bi men from all ethnic backgrounds. Over 30 participants attended the inaugural event, which consisted of three interactive educational and knowledge translation workshops on sexually transmitted infections (STIs), risks, and HIV testing (Sex Without Fear), relationships (Sex and Relationships), and body image (Sex and Body Image).Workshops were facilitated by prominent members of the Asian community. ACAS’ Men’s Program is committed to reaching the broader Asian male population using an inclusive, non-judgmental approach to identify and respond to the needs of our target population. To that end, we intend to expand the scope [...]

This August, we are honoured to have Bosco Yan, long-time survivor, activist, and the recipient of the 2012 ACAS Patrick Truong PHA Leadership Award, to tell us what ACAS signifies to him. Thank you Bosco for your years of dedication to ACAS and for your courage to speak up as an Asian living with HIV to raise awareness within the Asian community.