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"What's New in HIV Treatment and Prevention"- ACAS Health Promotion Workshop by Dr. Darrell Tan,  MD FRCPC PhD, sponsored by Gilead at Cranberries Restaurant (April 10, 2015) You can also visit all the other ACAS Health Promotion Workshop at the ACAS HIV Treatment Information in Asian Languages Site. We would like to thank Dr. Tan for the continuous support he has provided to ACAS and QAY over the years. Dr Darrell Tan is an infectious diseases physician and clinician-scientist at St. Michael’s Hospital, and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto. After completing undergraduate studies in Microbiology, Immunology & International Development Studies at McGill University in Montreal, he completed medical school, residency training and a PhD in clinical epidemiology at U of T. His research focuses on various aspects of HIV infection, including interactions with common sexually transmitted co-infections like herpes simplex virus and syphilis, as well as strategies for HIV prevention including pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis. Dr. Tan was the Co-Chair of the CAHR 2015 Conference that just took place in Toronto between April 30 t0 May 3, 2015.

Spring is finally here! The ACAS and QAY crew have definitely not wasted any time to take advantage of the warm weather (as you can see for yourself!): Did you get S.L.A.M.-ed?! For REAL!!!  Yes, S.L.A.M.-ed as in did you attend our “Sex, Love, Asian, Men: REAL” sexual health forum put on by the lovely Richard, Ryan, and Ly of the ACAS Men’s Program? Over 40 Asian gay, bisexual, and queer men came together on April 25, 2015 to examine the realities of living as a sexual and racial minority within a culturally safe space. Participants not only showed each other their favourite dance moves but also participated in various discussions on oppression and privilege, the sexual hierarchy, love and relationships, and a “Talking ‘straight’ ” session presented by Christian Hui, Straight Talk Coordinator, on Asian heterosexual men who have sex with men. We would like to thank the planning committee and our dedicated team of volunteers for making this event such a success, as well as all the participants who had shared so openly and courageously as we build a stronger and healthier community of queer Asian men!   Women Self-Defense Due to popular demand, our Women’s Program once again held a free Self-Defence Class at the ACAS Women’s Social on Thursday April 16, 2015. Our first Self-Defence workshop took place in January 2015, and because it was so popular with our participants, we had to schedule another one in April! ACAS Women’s Program events are open to all self-identified East and Southeast Asian Women and Trans* Women.    Fighting HIV Stigma with the Rotary Club  ACAS was very honoured to be fighting HIV stigma with the Rotary Club. On April 15, 2015, our Community Engagement Coordinator, Christian Hui, along with community members from other local AIDS service organizations, [...]

This April, Diversity and Inclusion Manager at the Toronto Police Service and former ACAS Board Chair Andre Goh, has shared with us why ACAS feels like a home to him and to so many others belonging to the diverse Asian communities. Through his career as a champion for newcomers, LGBTQ community members, and the East and Southeast Asian community, Andre has received many awards for his significant contributions to the community: the City of Toronto’s Access, Equity and Human Rights Award (2010) TRIEC Immigrant Success Award (2012) the Canadian Multicultural Council’s Outstanding Asian Canadian Awards (2013) As ACAS continue to celebrate its 20th year of community activism and service, we would also like to take this opportunity to share some new website banners representing the diverse members and communities at ACAS on our website acas.org this new fiscal year.

It has certainly been a busy March at ACAS! Within this past month, we had new staff joining our team, new community report being published, and new PSAs being launched, aside from hosting many wonderful workshops and activities! ACAS welcomes new Queer Asian Youth program staff: ACAS would like to extend a warm welcome not just one but two new staff to our Queer Asian Youth (QAY) program: Euan Hwang as our new Youth Education and Outreach Program Coordinator and Gabriel Bacani as the QAY Health Promotion Project Leader. Please say hi to Euan and Gabriel when you are at our office or one of the upcoming QAY workshops and outreach activities! And as if Euan and Gabriel are not already working hard, they have already hosted their first QAY Meeting on March 13 where our vibrant community of youth members came together and helped plan for QAY events and workshops for the new fiscal year!   ACAS launches new Community Reports for Asian Migrant Farm Worker Within the past 20 years, ACAS has been a recognized leader in utilizing community-based research (CBR) to explore the issues and needs of the East and Southeast Asian communities. Through partnerships with affected community members, project advisory committees, academic partners, and the utilization of peer research associates, ACAS has meaningfully engaged target population in a number of research studies to investigate issues that are most relevant to the community and produce findings that are impactful and beneficial the community. In March 2015, ACAS launched a new Community-base Research Reports on Asian Migrant Farm Workers in Ontario: HIV Knowledge, Sexual Practices and Health Care Utilization From 2009-2012, ACAS implemented the Asian Migrant Farm Workers’ Health Promotion project to provide HIV/STIs and Hepatitis C prevention, education, and outreach to Asian migrant farm workers in Ontario. Our project [...]

The Ontario Positive Asians (OPA+) Survey for HIV+ Asian Community Members (Note: We define Asia as Central, East, Southeast, South and West Asia): Dear Community Member: The Ontario Positive Asians (OPA+) network is a new initiative supported by Asian Community AIDS Service (ACAS) and Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention (ASAAP) for and by Asians persons living with HIV/AIDS (PHAs). The network aims to strengthen the connection among Asians PHAs across Ontario to collectively identify and act on issues most relevant to our wellbeing and to promote self-efficacy as a group. We would greatly appreciate your time and support in answering this survey. Information collected from this confidential and anonymous survey will help OPA+ better understand the needs of Asian PHAs, as well as help provide guidance for the planning of the upcoming OPA+ Caucus meeting in late April 2015. The survey should take approximate 5 to 7 minutes of your time. Please kindly complete the survey by Wednesday, April 1, 2015 by 5pm. You can access the OPA+ survey for community members here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/OPAcommunity. At the end of the survey, you will be asked if you would like to leave your contact information so OPA+ can contact you with upcoming information about the network and our first-ever OPA+ Caucus in late April 2015. If you choose yes, you will be taken to another survey link separate from this survey to input your name and contact information. Your privacy and confidentiality will be strictly assured. Should you have any questions, please contact Christian Hui, Community Engagement Coordinator, at community@acas.org or 416-963-4300 ext 234. Sincerely, Christian Hui Community Engagement Coordinator Asian Community AIDS Services 260 Spadina Ave, Suite 410 Toronto, ON, M5T 2E4 Tel: 416-963-4300 ext 234 Fax: 416-963-4371 community@acas.org Like ACAS on Facebook Follow ACAS on Twitter Watch our Youtube [...]

Within the past 20 years, ACAS has been a recognized leader in utilizing community-based research (CBR) to explore the issues and needs of the East and Southeast Asian communities. Through partnerships with affected community members, project advisory committees, academic partners, and the utilization of peer research associates, ACAS has meaningfully engaged target population in a number of research studies to investigate issues that are most relevant to the community and produce findings that are impactful and beneficial the community. Launching of the ACAS Community-base Research Reports: Asian Migrant Farm Workers in Ontario & the AMP2R on Resilience for Asian Gay/Bi men   ACAS has conducted two community-based research studies between 2011 and 2013: Asian Migrant Farm Worker (AMFW) in Ontario Community-based Research Study , funded by the Ontario HIV Treatment Network (OHTN). From 2009-2012, ACAS implemented the Asian Migrant Farm Workers’ Health Promotion project to provide HIV/STIs and Hepatitis C prevention, education, and outreach to Asian migrant farm workers in Ontario. Our project partners were the AIDS Committee of Windsor, AIDS Niagara, the Thai Society of Ontario, and Justice for Migrant Workers. We were able to outreach to over 500 AMFWs during the 3 year period. At present, ACAS continues to work with AMFWs by organizing outreach activities, and referral service. You can access the online PDF version of the report here: or You can view the community report via ISSUU (flash version) here: http://issuu.com/asiancommunityaidsservices/docs/acas_amfw_cbr_comm_reprt2014_final Asian MSM Pathways to Resiliency (AMP2R) Community-based Research Study , funded by the Canadian Institute for Health Research (CIHR) Catalyst Grant. In 2011, ACAS received funding from the CIHR  to organize a community forum for Asian men: Sex, Love, Asian, Men! (S.L.A.M.!). Utilizing the community responses gathered at S.L.A.M., the ACAS research committee hosted a research think tank with community members and academic partners to craft relevant research questions for the community-based [...]

Happy Lunar New Year 2015! On behalf of the Board and staff at ACAS, we wish everyone an amazing, prosperous and healthy year ahead! Thank you for all your continued support in our work and being a part of the ACAS and QAY family!   Queer Asian Youth celebrates 15 years of building LGBTQ youth leadership in the East and Southeast Asian community   This February, Queer Asian Youth (QAY), ACAS’ Youth Program, is celebrating its 15th anniversary of providing a supportive and healthy safe space for East and Southeast Asian youth.   Reflection from Julia Lo, Community Leader and QAY member:  As a lead-up to this significant event and to continue with our‪ #‎ACASturns20 celebration, Julia Lo, the Recipient of the ACAS CelebrAsian Community Activist Award in 2012 reflected on how ACAS and Queer Asian Youth have helped her become a youth leader in Toronto and the Asian Community.   QAY’s We Still Here?! 15th Anniversary at Buddies at Bad Times Theatre:  To celebrate 15 years of the amazing work of Queer Asian Youth in creating the much-needed safe space for LGBTQ Asian youth and creating youth leaders in our community, past and present QAY members celebrated a fabulous evening and commemorated our milestone with talented performances, fun, and retrospection of our many achievements. Queer Asian Youth (QAY) provides social spaces for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual, transgender, queer, curious, undecided, or questioning East and Southeast Asian youth and their friends. Through providing a culturally appropriate safe space for LGBTQ Asian youth and building a strong peer support network, our program emphasizes on the building of future queer Asian leaders in our community.   Goodbye Meza! We will miss you as our Youth Education and Outreach Coordinator!  QAY’s 15th Anniversary also marks the last day of our beloved Youth Education [...]

This February, Queer Asian Youth (QAY), ACAS' Youth Program, is celebrating its 15the anniversary of providing a supportive and healthy safe space for East and Southeast Asian youth. As a lead-up to this significant event and to continue with our #ACASturns20 celebration, we want to share with you a feature by Julia Lo, Recipient of the ACAS CelebrAsian Community Activist Award in 2012 on how ACAS and Queer Asian Youth have helped her become a youth leader in Toronto and the Asian Community:   "We Still Here?": QAY's 15th Anniversary + Coming Out Resource Launch is taking place on Feb 25, 2015 at Buddies at Bad Times Theatre from 6pm to 9pm.  Visit https://www.facebook.com/acas.qay or contact Meza at youth@acas.org for more information.