The Pulse: October 2023

NoTimeToWait Prelaunch

Toronto Metropolitan University Students testing their knowledge on STI, HIV and sexual health at our NoTimeToWait Prelaunch event which took place earlier this month.

Check out Pg 2 for the full event recap.

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER HIGHLIGHTS

Chew & Brew

This August, we took a page out of the LetsStopAIDS history books and revived our 2012 barbeque event, Chew & Brew! This end-ofsummer fundraiser was a great opportunity to get out in the community and enjoy some much needed sunshine, all while supporting the expansion of our Peer (to Peer) workshops which were featured in our last edition of The Pulse.

Thank you again to Collective Arts for providing the refreshments, to Sanagan’s Meat Locker for providing the hotdogs, to Maria Judas for letting us use her venue, and to all our other supporters for making this event possible!

And, of course, thank you to our very own grill master Bill who was serving up hot dogs all day!

NoTimeTowait PreLaunch

On September 13th, we set up shop at Toronto Metropolitan University Student Center during orientation week to promote our 4th year of NoTimeToWait, Canada’s Largest Youth-HIV Leadership Event (pg 6).

At this event, we set up an interactive art installation featuring three humansized canvases, where our team invited students to take quizzes based on sexual health, share their sexual experiences, and give their opinions on the state of sexual education in Canada. The end-result was a collection of personal anecdotes, sexual confessions, and of course, a few penis drawings.

Be sure to come check out these art pieces at the NoTimeToWait 2023.

VOLUNTEER FEATURE

Karyna Novikova originally started at LetsStopAIDS on a whim. Needing to fill her volunteer hours for school, she stumbled across a volunteer recruitment ad for NoTimeToWait 2022 and was called upon to help with guest check-ins on the last day of the conference. Karyna ended up liking the event so much that she decided to explore other opportunities at the organization.

Now almost an entire year later, Karyna has become an integral part of the planning, preparation and execution of NoTimeToWait 2023. In her spare time, Karyna enjoys partner dancing, reading and writing. If you’d like to see all the hard work that Karyna and her team have been putting into NoTimeToWait, be sure to register for the event (page 6) and follow us on our socials for important updates!

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IN THE NEWS

HIV & Stigma in venezuela: a true story

By: Pedro Eman, Edited by Gabrial Brown

When I was a medical student in Venezuela, I interacted with many HIV+/AIDS patients. One notable example was of a young man in his late 20s whom I first encountered during my first rotation in the Internal Medicine department. He had come due to a persistent cough, night sweats and weight loss. Shortly after, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis and HIV. We started him on Antiretroviral treatment and antituberculosis regimens; then referred him to the infectious disease department, which was in charge of these medications.

He was hesitant to accept the diagnosis and start the therapy due to the stigma surrounding HIV which to many is a disease only associated with the LGBTQ community (more so, the gay community). Within a Latin American country with ingrained “macho” culture, a lot of men are hesitant to come to terms with such a diagnosis. Despite initial resistance, he agreed to start the therapy and follow up with our departments.

Soon after he was discharged, the patient disappeared. He was not seen or heard from until a year later. He still had the persistent coughing, and weight loss but now had also had severe diarrhea.

Photo Credits: Bing Images

IN THE NEWS

During this second visit, he was diagnosed with other conditions associated with an uncontrolled HIV infection. He revealed that he had not been taking his medication, for fear of being discriminated against. He also admitted to multiple unprotected sexual encounters. This prompted us to start emergency antiretroviral therapy and contact the health department to track down his sexual contacts. He spent over a month hospitalized and was once again discharged with antiretroviral therapy with scheduled control visits.

Again, he disappeared for another year and when he came back to us, he was in a much more precarious state. He now had developed an HIV-linked cancer, a severe parasitic infection and an HIV-associated

neurocognitive disorder. He was brought in by his relatives but upon questioning, none of his relatives were aware of his HIV diagnosis. Taken aback, they started questioning his sexuality (even though he identified as a heterosexual male) and were afraid that they might have contracted the infection through mere interaction with the patient/their relative.

His condition was very precarious and despite our teams’ best efforts, the young man passed away shortly after this final visit. This story highlights the real-world importance of sexual health, HIV education and the reality of many lived experiences with HIV, the associated stigma, and its dire consequences in Latin America.

a mother’s dilemma

and a child’s resilience:

By: Tasmia Farabi,

Edited by Ainslee Bisette & Gabrial Brown

In Bangladesh, Rina (pseudonym), a resilient woman, discovered she was HIV positive while working as a sex worker. The virus shattered her family, infecting her husband and child. Abandoned by her husband, Rina faced this challenge alone. This story, while tragic, is not unique. In fact, many women's stories remain untold, hidden in foundational patriarchal societies that foster conditions that make accessing health and social support inherently difficult for women.

Our medical team persisted in engaging Rina despite her many hesitations. Through counseling, she understood self-care and sought treatment. With unwavering dedication

and as the clinical team lead, I embarked on a mission to bring hope and healing to the lives of people like Rina.

Then, faced with the financial realities of our tough world, Rina made the difficult decision to leave her child with grandparents and stop treatment for fear of potential client loss as a sex worker. Highlighting a common barrier many individuals face in their journey to better health. The reality for many is that they feel they cannot stop work, for fear of starvation.

Bangladesh has 19,294 female sex workers, of whom 8,238 are “floating’ or untraceable. At present, there are 29 Sex Worker Network organizations, including Save The Children, who work to uplift these marginalized women in this low-middle-income country.

Register now for our jam-packed event filled with inspiring speakers, storytellers, performers, artists, workshops, networking, and social events!

register here

LETSSTOPAIDS IN ACTION

OPEN CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

APPLY HERE Speak. Perform. Exhibit. Be a part of our event!

register here Applications close October 2nd.

UPCOMING EVENTS IN CANADA

BRITISH COLUMBIA

TEEN PRIDE ALLIANCEGUILDFORD LIBRARY

15105 105 Ave, Surrey, BC

OCT 4

PIVOT SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH RETREAT

1081 Burrard St, Vancouver, BC

Oct 21 - Oct 22

ALBERTA

4TH CANADIAN HIV & AGING SYMPOSIUM

University of Calgary (virtual) Calgary, AB

OCT 18 - OCT 20

Banff pride 2023

Central Park, Banff AB

oct 06 - oct 15

MANITOBA

REEL PRIDE FILM FESTIVAL

744 Bannatyne Avenue, Winnipeg MB

OCT 19 - OCT 20

NOVA SCOTIA

LET S KEEP TALKING BY BELL LET S TALK

Halifax, Nova Scotia

OCT 3

Queer of Halloweendrag competition

26 Torbay Rd, St. John’s, NL

OCT 6

ONTARIO

55 Gould St, Toronto ON nOTIMETOWAIT

Oct 20 - oct 21

Ontario (Virtual) Hiv Psychiatry ECHO

every friday in octOber

PRIDETOBER FEST 2023

10 Huron Road, Kitchener ON

oCT 7 - OCT 8

UPCOMING EVENTS AROUND THE WORLD

North America

NATIONAL LATINX AIDS

AWARENESS DAY

US OCT 15

LGBTQ+ SUMMIT 2023: ALL WORK IS WORK

1350 North First Street

San Jose, CA, US

OCT 19

ORGULLO 2023 - MIAMI’S HISPANIC & INDIGENOUS PRIDE FESTIVAL

Miami FL, US

OCT 1 - OCT 15

South AMerica

Queer BA: The History of the Argentine Sexual

Diversity + Community

Buenos Aires, AR

OCT 4

Buenos Aires Pride

Playa de Mayo, Buenos Aires, AR

OCT 27 - NOV 04

EUrope

19th european aids conference

Warsaw, PL

OCT 18 - OCT 21

International Conference on HIV/ AIDS Prevention and Treatment

Luxembourg City, LU

OCT 26 - OCT 27

The HIV Reservoirs and Immune Control Conference

Country Dublin, IE

OCT 1 - OCT 4

africa

INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON HIV and adolescence

Lusaka, ZM

OCT 4

Pretoria PRide

Centurion Rugby Club, Pretoria, ZA

OCT 07

ASIA

Gandhinagar queer

pride parade

Gandhinagar, Gujarat, IN

OCT 01

Australia

LGBTQIA+ Connection

Ashwood, AU

OCT 18

Newcastle Pride

Speers Point Park, Newcastle, AU

SEP 9 - OCT 29

Pride coffee catch-up

Pukeiti, NZ

OCT 8

OUR FRIENDS