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As Asian Community AIDS Services (ACAS) continues to celebrate our 20th Anniversary, we would like to share with you our community reflection on 25 years of community outreach at bathhouses in Toronto. Written by Nalini Mohabir, Twenty-five Years of Bathhouse Outreach: Approaches to Peer Outreach and Play documents the history and success of ACAS as well as our peer-based bathhouse outreach strategy. It highlights the benefits and importance of involving queer, racialized men as peers in the promotion of safer sex education and the strengthening of community which we serve.

ACAS holds Annual General Meeting and welcomes new Board Members! On September 18, 2014, ACAS held its Annual General Meeting at Fife House. It was a well-attended event where members got to meet ACAS staff members, learned about the successes of all our programs, and caught up with friends and allies. ACAS would like to thank the dedication and support from exiting Board Members Andre Goh, Karen Tsang, Michael Adia, and Carmen Subibi. We would like to welcome our new Board Members Gerson Mobo and Ronald Chu to our board! Our current board members are: Paul Cadiente, Joel Bansil, Ronald Chu, Paul Fernandes, Emily Hao, Jazzmine Manalo, Gerson Mobo, Giovanni Temansja, and Agnes Tong.   ACAS Scotia Run Charity Challenge Update With only a little more than weeks away, excitement is building among our 24 registered runners/walkers and our 5 teams raising funds to support ACAS and East and Southeast Asians living with HIV. As of Thursday, October 2, 2014, we have raised $9041, which is 45% of our $20,000 fundraising goal. Please kindly consider supporting our many dedicated runners and walkers for this meaningful event! Our top fundraiser is Dr. Alan Li, founder of ACAS and recipient of our 20th Anniversary Community Building Award, with $2450, and the team with most funds raised is Team CelebrAsian with $3590!!! Like previous years, many of our ACAS staff are participating at the charity challenge. If you would like to sponsor a staff member, please click on the name of the staff you would like to sponsor and you will be redirected to a secure online donation page. Andrew Miao $650.00 Noulmook Sutdhibhailp $575.00 Christian Hui $535.00 Richard Utama $515.00 Ryan Tran $415.00 Trisha S $250.00 Meza Daulet $100.00 Cassandra Dong Nguyen $35.00 Jenny Cheng $35.00 As for the teams, we currently have a tight race between Team CelebrAsian and Team [...]

Want to find out more about what's new in HIV treatment and prevention? Watch this informative video presentation on "HIV Treatment and Prevention Update" by Aneeta Lal, Pharmacist at the Immunodeficiency Clinic at Toronto General Hospital as part of the ACAS Health Promotion Workshop Series on our ACAS HIV Treatment Information in Asian Languages Website! The ACAS Support Program provides support services and health promotion for East and Southeast Asians living with HIV and their family/friends. 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. We would like to thank our sponsors ViiV Healthcare, Janssen, Gilead, and Merck for making this workshop possible.  

Type of Posting: Internal Job Posting for volunteers, and current employees Position Status: part-time, contract, 17.5 hours/week Closing Date: FRIDAY, September 26, 2014 (midnight) Interview Date: Wednesday, October 1, 2014 Hourly wage: $14-15, depending on qualifications ACAS is currently seeking an individual who is highly organized, energetic, flexible and reliable individual who will be happy to keep the office running smoothly while providing administrative support to the Executive Director primarily, but also to other staff from time-to-time.   MAJOR AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITIES:   Office admin General office duties such as greeting office visitors, telephone reception, prepare and send outgoing mail, email, faxes and courier parcels, drinking water, photocopying, ordering prints, collating and assembly of documents. Ensure the reception and common areas are organized, clean and professional at all times Using spreadsheet and database software, to create, maintain and/or update the member database, donor, and mailing lists Maintain and update the office filing systems Assist in organizing board, and staff meetings, retreat, public awareness and fundraising events as required Manage internal and external space booking for program activities Maintains office and program supplies: monitors inventory, anticipates requirements, places orders & confirms receipt. Office and program supplies include stationary, condoms and lubes, educational materials, ACAS forms, cutlery and dishes, ACAS banners etc. Maintain office equipment and furniture (fridge, microwave oven, desks, chairs, laptop computers, LCD projectors, plants) Acquire price quotes, details of services, and/or products based on ACAS financial policy and procedure Proofread new print materials prior to production   Administrative support to the Executive Director Track major program deadlines (OCHART, final reports to funders) and follow-up with staff to ensure deadlines are met Maintain a tracking system for HR such as staff’s professional development and report, time sheet, vacation schedule, opening-closing schedule Prepare responses to correspondence for ED’s signature Assist in [...]

Ever wonder how HIV affects the brain? Find out by watching the informative video presentation on "HIV & the Brain" by Dr. Sean Rourke as part of the ACAS Health Promotion Workshop Series on our ACAS HIV Treatment Information in Asian Languages Website! Dr. Sean Rourke is a neuropsychologist and researcher who is dedicated to improving mental health care for people living with HIV/AIDS. His research has highlighted the urgent need for innovative, collaborative models to link HIV treatment with housing support and mental health services. Dr. Rourke is also known internationally for his work on the treatment of neurobehavioural complications associated with HIV. He is the director of research for St. Michael’s Hospital Mental Health Service, and scientific and executive director of the Ontario HIV Treatment Network. We would like to thank our sponsors Viiv Healthcare, Gilead and Janssen for making this workshop possible.  

Have you checked out the ACAS HIV Treatment Information in Asian Languages Website http://treatment.acas.org lately? If you, we invite you to take a look at our amazing multi-lingual site! The web-portal is a place where you can find HIV treatment and health related information in English, Chinese (Traditional & Simplified), Vietnamese and Tagalog. It is also a place where you can check out all of our health promotion videos: http://treatment.acas.org/health-promotion-newsletter-and-videos/ We have just uploaded a video from our "Hepatitis A, B, C in those living with HIV" - ACAS Health Promotion Workshop by Dr. David Wong which took place on March 21, 2014. We would like to thank our sponsors Viiv Healthcare Janssen and Merck for their generous support to make this event possible.  

Asian Community AIDS Services (ACAS) is creating new multilingual resources on coming out for the family members of Asian LGBTQ youth. There's going to be a focus group with East & Southeast Asian parents of LGBTQ to develop this resource. ACAS is looking for 8 parents to participate in a short discussion in September. Tokens and refreshment will be provided. Focus group for parents Date: Saturday, September 20, 2014 Time: 6:00-8:00pm Location: ACAS (260 Spadina Ave, Unit 410) Focus group for youth Date: Saturday, September 27, 2014 Time: 6:00-8:00pm Location: ACAS (260 Spadina Ave, Unit 410) Interested? Contact Chuck Li, Resource Development Lead, at qay_resourcedevelopment@acas.org

Farewell Amutha and Heywon, and welcome Jenny, Cassandra and Chuck! ACAS would like to bid farewell to Amutha Samgam, Women’s Support Worker, and Heywon Kim, Women’s Outreach and Education Coordinator and thank them for their commitment to the community and contributions to the ACAS women’s community. Amutha has been tireless PHA-advocate and has provided exceptional care to our HIV+ service users through the years. We wish her the best in her new adventures in Calgary, Alberta! Meanwhile, we would like to congratulate Heywon to getting accepted for teacher’s college at Western University. Under Heywon’s outreach and education leadership, she has worked with a team of dedicated women’s program volunteers and participants to create Pillow Talk, a community sexual health forum for East and Southeast Asian women. We at ACAS already know how great an educator Heywon is, and we wish her the best in her education and future endeavors! With Amutha and Heywon departing, we would like to also extend a big, warm welcome to Jenny S. Cheng, our new Women’s Supporter Worker, and Cassandra Dang Nguyen, our new Women’s Outreach and Education Coordinator. Please say hi to them when you are at the ACAS office or community event! Jenny S. Cheng Women Support Worker Name: Jenny S. Cheng (the middle initial “S” is a nod to my Chinese name, Sheng-Hsin) Country of Origin: Taiwan Language(s): Mandarin, English, working Taiwanese and Cantonese How long you have worked at ACAS:  Since 2014 In one sentence, briefly describe what you like about your role/job at ACAS: I love working with people to help them figure out and achieve their goals; witnessing the talents/skills people bring to the table is always inspiring. Three likes (It can be anything that you like) Cooking, eating, and watching other people do the dishes Comment to site visitors (brief sentence [...]

Job Description and Expectations Purpose: To provide leadership, sound governance to the organization, and represent it to the community, other stakeholders, and the public, and to accept the fiduciary responsibility (e.g. ultimate legal authority) of the organization in its affairs.   Mission Statement: Asian Community AIDS Services (ACAS) is a charitable, non-profit, community-based organization that provides HIV/AIDS education, prevention, and support services to the East and South East Asian Canadian communities in Ontario. These programs are based on proactive, holistic, collaborative, empowering, and non-discriminatory approach to education.     General Responsibilities of the Board of Directors: To support the missions, goals, objectives and philosophies of ACAS. To respect and uphold ethics of confidentiality. To commit to training on any important issues to the agency. To attend all board meetings whenever possible. To participate in ACAS committees as required. To represent ACAS of its mission and vision, from time to time at events and functions. To avoid and clarify any potential conflicts of interest, and to oversee such matters in a lawful and ethical manner. To oversee ACAS’s fundraising initiatives. Specific Functions of the Board of Directors: vPlanning and Goals ü  Annual assessments and reviews of external trends and environment in regards to current initiatives pertaining to ACAS core program, ü  Strategic plan creation, implementation, and evaluation of current programs including potential new ones, ü  Policy development ü  Review results of ACAS work in meeting its goals. vGovernance ü  Assess, review, monitor, appraise, support, and when necessary, change the top management. ü  Conduct a Performance Review of top management. ü  Match strategic goals with internal or required capacity building. ü  Endeavour to maintain a full roster for Board of Directors. ü  Annually assess Board capacity, skills, experience, and areas for development according to an Annual Board Development plan. ü  Endeavour for [...]

Hi runners, walkers, donors and ACAS supporters, Are you ready to run for a great cause? The Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Half Marathon and 5k Run/Walk will take place on Sunday, October 19, 2014. We invite you to take part of the challenge to become one of our runners, walkers and/or supporters. Last year, ACAS had 26 runners/walkers in four teams to rasie a total of $20,120.91 at the 2013 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Half-Marathon and 5k, exceeding our $20,000 fundraising goal. This year, we are hoping to achieve or surpass our $20,000 fundraising goal for our 20th anniversary in community activism and advocacy for the East and Southeast Asian HIV and LGBTQ communities in Toronto. The funds raised will not only ensure that our East and Southeast Asian service users living with HIV/AIDS can continue to receive the much needed culturally and linguistically appropriate services they need, but will also allow us in creating an Asian PHA (people living with HIV/AIDS) Network in Ontario. With the generous support from our donors last year, the ACAS Support Program had been able to hold an health focused retreat for services users living with HIV at the Ecology Retreat Centre in Orangeville, ON with the funds we had raised at last year’s Scotia Run fundraising event along with support from pharmaceutical companies. Through your support, we will be able to continue to providing quality and individualized services to our service users and empower them through providing social support opportunities through groups such as ALPHA, increasing their holistic health knowledge through the health promotion workshops, and offering complementary an array of complementary therapies including acupuncture and massage therapy services. Please watch this space and our ACAS website (http://www.acas.org) and ACAS Facebook Page (http://www.facebook.com/AsianCommunityAIDSServices) for news and updates. If you would like to register to become [...]