ACAS 2021-2022 Annul Report

REJUVENATE RECONNECT RECHARGE

A Message from the Board Chair and the Executive Director Rejuvenate, Reconnect, and Recharge

Dear ACAS members, sponsors, volunteers, and service users,

The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed how we think about our lives, health, economies, and societies. In the early fall of 2022, health experts declared that we had entered the endemic stage of the COVID-19 outbreak. Despite the virus continuing to be present, it is less fatal than it was in 2020 and is more predictable. These endemic conditions have given us optimism though the level of risk from the disease remains uncertain.

In this 2021-22 Annual Report, we would like to start by addressing positive notes to our community. Rejuvenate, Reconnect, and Recharge are the concepts we hold dear and put into practice this year. We realize how important it is to reach out to reconnect with one another. We continue checking in with our clients living with HIV. We brought back the in-person program activities as much as possible, and reached out to other East and Southeast Asian communities, such as the Asian migrant farm workers in Chatham-Kent and the Leamington area, and those who use drugs in Toronto.

Our community members are continuously a ected by Anti-Asian racism, AIDS phobia, homophobia and transphobia. In our own little way, ACAS has provided them with a safe and caring space. Community members came to ACAS to recharge their life batteries, and rejuvenate their bodies, mind, and spirits by participating in various program activities. These activities ranged from health promotion educational workshops, HIV/STI educational sessions, movie nights, closed-group support, expressive-art therapy, fruit-picking, and meditative walk in the wood.

In July, Monkeypox outbreaks disproportionally a ected gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, and Trans women in Toronto. ACAS responded by joining other AIDS organizations to raise awareness and educate community members on the issue. We worked with Toronto Public Health to set up the Monkeypox vaccine pop-up clinic at ACAS. Over 200 community members were vaccinated at the pop-up clinic in the past four months. To rejuvenate and recharge our organization, the Board of Directors, sta , and community members have recently developed ACAS’ strategic plan covering 2023-2025. We started by working with an OODP (Ontario Organizational Development Program) consultant and an external consultant to plan, conduct an environmental scan, and participate in a day retreat to develop the plan. The summary of the 2023-2025 Strategic Plan will be presented at this year’s AGM. Lastly, we wish to thank our sta team and volunteers who continue tirelessly to provide services to our community. We want to express our sincere gratitude to individual and corporate sponsors, and funders. Any grant, donation and gifts you give matter as we work daily to rejuvenate, reconnect, and recharge our community.

Supporting our community, caring for our future,

Lindsey Li Board Chair Noulmook Sutdhibhasilp

Our Mission

To provide HIV/AIDS education, prevention, and support service to the East and Southeast Asian Canadian communities.

What We’re Doing

With your support, we provide HIV and sexual health education workshops, community outreach and forums, support for LGBTQ+ youth, case management, health promotion and referral services for people living with HIV/AIDS (PHAs).

PROGRAMS at ACAS

• Youth Program

• Support Program

• SLAM! Men’s Program

• BIPOC Harm Reduction Program

• Asian Migrant Farm Workers’ HIV/STI Prevention Project

• Community-based Research: Awareness and acceptance of U=U amongst East and Southeast Asian men who have sex with men

• PinkDot TO 2022

• TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon

• Social Media and Website

Youth Program

Program Coordinator: Dany Ko

Peer Educators: Cameron V., Cece, Winsome T.

Program Goal and Activities

ACAS’s Youth Program is a wonderful community space created by, for, and with Queer and Trans Asian Youth (QTAY). Our programming aims to bolster the community and provide opportunities to learn, grow, and thrive together.

When You’re Ready, our main workshop series, runs for eight weeks and provides a small group of QTAY the opportunity to come together on a weekly basis to learn about, discuss, and bond over topics such as anti-oppression, mental health, mindfulness, sexual health, harm reduction, and community building. Moreover, it is a great time to build social support networks, meet community mentors and leaders, and connect to various queer and Asian cultures.

Along with other educational workshops and social drop-ins, we aim to curate a community space that is accessible, meaningful, and engaged. Previous events have included a youth arts showcase, food-making workshops, sexual health discussions, and financial literacy sessions.

Program at a Glance

From October 2021 - September 2022, we hosted 4 cycles (8 sessions each) of When You’re Ready. 39 participants overall (averaging about 9-10 participants per cycle) helped create a fantastic community-inclusive space, with 89% of participants agreeing that it was a wonderful experience. These participants reported feeling grateful for the resources shared, the safe(r) community-centered space, and the opportunity to learn new things together. They also reported an increased understanding and appreciation of sexual health topics (such as HIV/AIDS and consent), the ideals and practice of harm reduction, and community connectedness.

Our open drop-ins provided space for 125 participants to come together and learn about, discuss, and celebrate our identities, skills, and community. 84% of participants reported being more than satisfied with these events, with many appreciating the opportunities they have been given to learn and grow with other youth. By gaining new knowledge, building on their skills, and a rming their experiences, they felt an increased sense of community solidarity and resilience.

Testimonials

"I feel so grateful to be able to participate and help with the event. [It] me feel so proud of, seen by, and connected to my queer Asian community. The workshop series was also a welcome respite at the end of the workday.... I gained more appreciation for my own work as well."

“[I’ve learned] how much love and community can be found with other Asian Queer people, and that we are all so expansive in how we can support, uplift and educate one another about personal and safe practices, as well as find laughter and happiness in these sessions - we can approach informative knowledge, community and safety in an open and encouraging environment when amongst others that understand and relate.”

“Just thank you - thank you so so much for creating this program and letting me be a part of this. This was a great program to be a part of, and I’m extremely grateful for its existence.”

“I was able to gain a sense of belonging and openness I have always struggled to deal with, so it was a nice change of pace to hang out in a super positive and open space. It also gave me insight into other Asian perspectives I had not thought of before.”

“Having spaces like these allows us to safely discuss topics that are often not accessible within our own families; I appreciate having this community to connect with, as there are a lot of assumptions that we do not get to challenge or explore with a shared sense of cultural background.”

"[I appreciated] having communal space and time, both free time and directed conversation. Having both was a nice balance! I appreciated being asked hard questions and then having the space and care afterwards to think through it."

Support Program

Program Coordinator: Alex Ma

Women’s Support Coordinator: Jun Liu

Health Promotion Coordinator: Kenneth Poon

The Support Program aims to support East/Southeast Asians living with HIV (PHAs) to achieve their optimal health, and be valued and respected.

We o er a culturally and linguistically informed case management service, linkage to health and social services, complementary therapies (acupuncture, massage, nutrition consultation), social events, peer groups, financial assistance, HIV treatment information, and capacity building opportunities to Asians living with HIV. Driven by principles of Greater Involvement and Meaningful Involvement of PHAs (GIPA/MEPA), our program engages and empowers PHAs to improve their quality of life by enhancing their knowledge and skills in self-care and to make positive changes in their lives and the community.

Program at a Glance

Total number of PHAs and family members served:

93 2010

service sessions (Case management, general support, service coordination, complementary therapy, settlement services, and support groups) delivered

7

virtual and in-person health promotion workshops (HIV and Cancer Burden, HIV and PrEP, Understanding your blood work, Asian Nutrition Perspectives, HIV and COVID19 treatment updates, HIV and weight change, HIV, HPV and HPV related cancers)

12

virtual and in-person social events and gatherings

2 virtual community forums (Aging PHA on COVID and Beyond, Perspective and Resilience of PLHIV/PWUD)

4 group sessions of virtual Expressive Art Therapy

Community kitchen program and food delivery to clients

PHA Financial assistance

Testimonials

“I learnt about how much calories I eat, what is healthy and not healthy food, healthy eating.”

“The information provided in this workshop gave me hope for my health and my future.”

“Having a peer to support me is very helpful, it changes my life.”

“The training I went through was really helpful, I can use the skills to help my peers.”

SLAM! Men’s Program

Manager of Education & Outreach: Ryan Tran SLAM Forum Project Lead: Greg Wong

SLAM! (Sex, Love, Asian Men!) is the ACAS Men’s Program for Asian gay, bi, and queer cis and trans men who have sex with men (MSM). The program’s goal is to address the sexual health and well-being of Asian men by increasing HIV/STI prevention awareness, promote harm reduction, and create a safe space for discussions around our community’s lived experiences with sex, love, relationships, and cultural identities.

Asian Bathhouse Night came back in action this year at Spa Excess, thanks to our new and returning volunteers. Our monthly Humpday event provides a safe sober space for guys to connect and build community through social activities. With the opening of a new health hub, we moved our monthly sexual health workshops (newly dubbed Sex EducAsian) to HQ. The online SLAM Forum organized this year by Greg Wong invited special queer Asian guests ranging in various sexual health topics that engaged the queer Asian community. Monkeypox vaccine clinics were run at ACAS with much positive feedback to our welcoming environment and timely response to address the impending outbreak. A new partnership was formed with Freddie to support our sexual health activities.

180

28

25

13

Asian MSM attended the online SLAM Forum

11 educational workshops were given

6 social events were held

14

Asian MSM were given one-on-one support regarding sexual health and/or connected to services and resources

Testimonials

"I would say your services provide more than sexual health information to people out there. I've always been thankful for the community your program fostered. And in these trying times, where people feel isolated and alone - it's the kind of work that is needed to bridge/connect people. You're definitely doing important and needed work in my opinion!!!"

“Thank you Ryan. This is by far the most helpful info I received. I really appreciated your assistance!”

“Attended a sexual health workshop run by Ryan from ACAS Toronto. It was great Ryan was very professional, friendly and was able to provide those of us who attended with great information. And if you want your own HIV self-Testing kit they will send it out to you. Honestly I just happened to catch this workshop and it was very informative and delivered in a professional friendly environment.”

BIPOC Harm Reduction Program

Project Coordinator: Trisha Steinberg

April 2022 marks a new venture for ACAS as it launches the Harm Reduction Program. For the next five years, ACAS will be working closely with our alliance partners, Blackcap (Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention) as the lead agency, APAA (Africans in Partnership Against AIDS), ASAAP (Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention), CSSP (Centre for Spanish Speaking People) and Action Positive VIH/SIDA. The program aims to increase knowledge of safe use, and awareness of the harms native to substance use. Alliance members work together to reduce stigma around drug use, improve access to resources (i.e. injection and inhalation equipment), and to develop BIPOC Harm Reduction Delivery Model.

The program’s targets are members of the East and Southeast Asian community in Ontario, people who use drugs and service providers. Since April 2022, Train the Trainers and regular outreach at various venues with BIPOC Alliance members have been implemented.

“Harm reduction is a set of practical strategies and ideas aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with drug use. Harm reduction is also a movement for social justice built on a belief in, and respect for, the rights of people who use drugs.”

- Harm Reduction Coalition

“Harm reduction is a set of practical strategies and ideas aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with drug use. Harm reduction is also a movement for social justice built on a belief in, and respect for, the rights of people who use drugs.” ˝

Asian Migrant Farm Workers’ HIV/STI Prevention Project

Project Coordinator: Jarucha “Oh” Janmekha

Peer Educators: Kannika B., Krai B., Suwat B.

Program Goal and Activities

The Asian Migrant Farm Workers’ HIV/STI project works in partnership with Positive Living Niagara and Latinos Positivos Toronto to deliver culturally-linguistically appropriate HIV/STI prevention and educational activities to Asian migrant farm workers working in the southwestern region of Ontario.

ACAS organizes educational workshops, outreach activities, and health information to the workers. In Leamington, Chatham-Kent, Thamesville, and Stratford.

This year we joined the workers’ community to organize a sports day in Thamesville. ACAS distributed condoms, lube, educational materials and also ran educational games to get the attention of farm workers. Moreover, ACAS has been o ering online health education on topics such as HIV/STI via weekly posts and chats on Facebook and LINE (chat broadcast). We also direct migrant farm workers when they need assistance with their health.

Program at a Glance

250

Asian Migrant Farm Workers served at Sports day

200 condoms and lubes distributed

76 Facebook members

51 LINE chat broadcast members

Weekly post on social media

Testimonials

“We feel like we are not alone because we have an organization (ACAS) to assist us when we need help”

“I appreciated the support from people who can speak the same language as me” – Thai project participants

“The educational quiz game is not only fun, but I got some knowledge about HIV which helps me to be aware of it”

Community-based Research:

Awareness and acceptance of U=U amongst East and Southeast Asian men who have sex with men

Co-Principal Investigator: Noulmook Sutdhibhasilp

Academic

Co-Principal Investigator: Nalini Mohabir

Co-Investigators: Kenneth Poon, Richard Utama, Ryan Tran

Research Coordinator: Michael Butac

Peer Research Assistant: Harny Chan Lim

Research Community Advisory: Robinson Truong, Oliver Lim, Liujia Tian Special thanks to Marcos Sanches, Faviola Fernandez, and Christian Hui

This one-year project is funded by Gilead Canada to Zero Research Grant. As little research has been done in Canada especially within racialized communities, this research project aims to study the awareness and acceptance of U=U (Undetectable=Untransmittable) amongst East and Southeast Asian men who have sex with men in Ontario. Delving deeper, it attempts to uncover the significant factors impacting awareness and acceptance of U=U.

Using the mixed methods, both quantitative and qualitative data collection, the research team conducted an online survey with 160 participants and 2 focus groups. Findings thus far reinforce the importance of education to better inform the public about U=U and addressing culture and stigmas. The research team will disseminate the knowledge by organizing a Slam Poetry event, producing factsheets on key messages, and publishing in a peer-reviewed academic journal and applying for a conference presentation at the Canadian Conference on HIV/AIDS Research (CAHR) in April 2023.

PinkDot TO 2022

Special Event Organizer: Trisha Steinberg

Summer 2022 has been truly special to ACAS as we were able to bring back PinkDotTO as an in-person event. This has been made possible through our partnership with TD Bank Group and the continuous support of ViiV Healthcare. PinkDotTO was held on July 13th at Chinatown's Sky Dragon Chinese Restaurant. And for this year, the theme was "#togetherness." It was a night of celebration, promoting diversity and inclusion and helping revitalize artistry through various talent showcases powered by our talented community members. The night was jam-packed with a lineup of fabulous performances and a mouthwatering dinner treat. Best of all, PinkDotTO was attended by 260+ guests. Indeed, a night of fun, joy and laughter, and we at ACAS, hope to bring it back again in years to come!

What is PinkDot?

Pinkdot is a movement that started in 2009 supporting the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer (LGBTQ) community in Singapore. Attendees of PinkDot events gather to form a giant pink dot in a show of support for inclusiveness, diversity and the freedom to love. This movement has inspired many worldwide. Since then, in a proliferation of solidarity, international LGBTQ communities have organized Pinkdot events in Anchorage, Hong Kong, London, Montreal, New York, Oklahoma, Penang, Kaohsiung, and Utah to just name a few. Our very first and own, PinkDotTO, was held in the format of an LGBTQ and allies’ Chinatown Pride March on May 24, 2014 in Toronto during Asian Heritage Month as a lead-up to the World Pride Human Rights Conference and World Pride 2014.

TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon

Coordinator: Jarucha “Oh” Janmekha

Each year, ACAS enters a team of participants in the Toronto Waterfront Marathon. In 2022, 11 runners supported ACAS by doing double duty to fundraise and run/walk in this high-profile event (5 in-person, and 6 virtual). Together, they helped us increase our social media presence and reached many donors to support the ACAS PHA Support Program. Fund that we raised from the TCS enabled us to continue to support our clients with emergency funds, social events, honoraria for peer coaches and hot meals for sick clients.

Testimonials

Looking good, Alan! Your dedication to ACAS and the people it serves is so appreciated!”

“Your dedication is infectious and admirable. Have a good run..”

“Thank you for all your dedication throughout the years. Great work!”

Social Media and Website

Social Media Specialist: Jarucha “Oh” Janmekha

ACAS social media channels continue promoting a variety of content such as educational content, video content, events, ACAS program activities, and LGBTQ+ rights. Moreover, we collaborate with other organizations such as in the case of Getakit, the HIV self-test kit campaign. We also curate content from other organizations which can benefit our audience.

We also promote the ACAS brand identity to stand out from other accounts in terms of colour, fonts, and style so that our audience recognizes our social media channels. Moreover, we also reply via direct messages to our audience when they reach out to our organization. Behind the scenes, ACAS continues using other social media tactics to better understand our audience such as analytics, auditing, monitoring, and listening campaigns. Our social media strategy has more than tripled our follower counts for each platform since 2020.

Over the past 12 months all platforms have seen growth in their numbers of followers, with Instagram experiencing the sharpest growth. Facebook has also seen a sharp uptick in followers from August to September. Twitter continues slight growth.

Testimonials

“ACAS social media shows me a lot about ACAS activities which are valuable to the Asian Community.”

“The content is cutting edge, and stays on trend all the time.”

“It is easy to recognize ACAS social media with a ton of other content out there per day, and it shows that they are consistent to promote the ACAS brand identity”

Personnel, Funders and Sponsors

2021-2022 Board Members

Lindsey Li, Chair

Robinson Truong, Vice-Chair

Raymund Carino, Secretary

David Cai, Treasurer

Le Thai Ly, Director

Celeste Pang, Director

Patrick Roncal, Director

Sta Members

Alex Ma, Support Program Coordinator

Catharine Kozuch, Bookkeeper

Dany Ko, Youth Program Coordinator

Departing Board Member

Paul Jonathan Saguil

Jarucha Janmekha, Social Media Specialist/Asian Migrant Farm Workers’ HIV Prevention Project Coordinator

Jun Liu, Women’s Support Coordinator

Kenneth Poon, Health Promotion Coordinator

Mina Heng, Administrative Assistant

Noulmook Sutdhibhasilp, Executive Director

Ryan Tran, Manager of Education and Outreach/Gay Men’s Sexual Health Coordinator

Trisha Steinberg, Volunteer Coordinator/Harm Reduction Coordinator

Placement Student

Charlie Chien-wan Wei

Marcus Koh

Sugar Yuen

Departing sta

Cho C, Iz L, Kelly E.

Harny Chan Lim

Michael Butac

Michael Wu

Our sincere thanks to members of the Support Program Advisory, OPA+ Advisory, Youth Program Working Group, SLAM Working Group, U=U Research Advisory, and PHA peer coaches for their dedication and support.

Special thanks to these volunteers for their time and dedication.

Ally B, Alan L., Ambrose F., Andre G., Andy M., Aniel C., Aries C, Billy Q., Bryan Q, Caiden C., Carmen S. Christian H., Daniel U., David V., Derek K., E endy, Evan H, Felix L., Ian C, Je G, Jonathan T.H., Jonathan D.C., Justin A., Khanh T, Keith W., Koji T, Malu R., Marie S, Ian C, Mark, C, Michael D., Norma A., Piyarat VK., Richard U., Yu-Ling L, Heather C., and TD Bank group volunteers

FUNDERS AND FOUNDATIONS

AIDS and Hepatitis C Program, Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care

HIV and Hepatitis C Community Action Fund, Public Health Agency of Canada

Toronto Urban Health Fund, City of Toronto

Ontario Trillium Foundation

PRIDE Remembrance Foundation

TakingItGlobal #RisingYouth Grants

The Little Elves Foundation

CORPORATE SPONSORS

Adrienne Mak, Earthsea Acupuncture Carinn, Acupuncturist

Connie Chung, Acupuncturist

Freddie

Gilead Science Canada, Inc.

Moss Park PharmaChoice

Oxford College

Pace Pharmacy

Spa Excess

TD Bank Group

ViiV Healthcare Canada

Our gratitude and sincere thanks to individual donors whose names were not included in this annual report.

COMMUNITY PARTNERS

African in Partnerships Against AIDS (APAA) AIDS Committee of Toronto  Alliance for South Asian AIDS Prevention (ASAAP)

Butterfly

Centre for Spanish Speaking People (CSSP) Committee for Accessible AIDS Treatment (CAAT)

Dignity Network

Fife House

Gay Men Sexual Health Alliance (GMSH)

Hassle Free Clinic

Hong Fook Mental Health Association

HQ Gay Men’s Health Hub Advisory

Hospice Toronto

Not Far from the Trees

PRIDE Toronto

Raging Asian Women (RAW) Taiko Drummers

SEAS Centre

Toronto People with AIDS Foundation (PWA)

Toronto PFLAG

RESEARCH PARTNERS:

Department of Geography, Concordia University, Awareness and Acceptance of U=U message amongst East and Southeast Asian-Canadian Sexual Minorities Who Have Sex with Men (ASMSM), A Community-based Research Project.

Ryerson University, Engage Cohort Study

St Michael’s Hospital and the Shanghai Commercial Sex Worker and MSM Centre, PrEP among Shanghai and Chinese-Torontonian gbMSM Research Study

St. Michael’s Hospital, Ontario PrEP Cohort Study

We wish to thank all our donors, sponsors and volunteers whose names are too many to mention here for their continued support.

Asian Community AIDS Services (ACAS) 260 Spadina Ave, Suite 410 Toronto Ontario, M5T 2E4, Canada

E-mail: info@acas.org

Phone: (416) 963-4300

Fax: (416) 963-4371

Toll-free numbers: 1-877-630-2227

CHARITABLE NUMBER

889432431 RR001