The Lethbridge HIV Connection Society (LHC) is a volunteer based not-for-profit organization that provides leadership in building individual and community capacity to respond to and reduce the harm associated with HIV and Hepatitis C in South-Western Alberta. Founded in 1988 the Connection provides support services to people living with HIV/AIDS and/or Hepatitis C and engages in outreach throughout Soutwestern Alberta to deliver education for the prevention of both viruses.

 

Programs for positive clients include one-one counseling, peer support, monthly client socials, advocacy, referrals to other support services agencies and limited financial assistance for medical travel. Whenever possible, LHC offers opportunities for positive clients to attend conferences and participate in training sessions. For instance, one of our clients recently attended the Canadian AIDS Society PLWHIV/AIDS Forum.

 

As part of our prevention and harm reduction programming, we provide free educational workshops and presentations to various partner agencies through our outreach programs. Through a partnership with the Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange (CATIE) and the Canadian AIDS Legal Network, we were able to host the free public forum HIV Disclosure and the Law. A second component to out harm reduction program is our needle exchange program, which LHC spearheads for the City of Lethbridge. Volunteers help us by packaging needle bags with supplies and local pharmacies and partners agencies provide our needle exchange at their locations. Persons with a history of injection drug use also have the option of coming to the agency for supplies, information and counseling.

 

LHC facilitate a local branch of the provincial Alberta Addicts Who Educate and Advocate Responsibly (AAWEAR) group. AAWEAR is made up of individuals with a history of injection drug use and works to reduce the stigma associated with drug use through good works in the community. Our chapter is known as “COURAGE,” and it meets twice a month. To date the group has done park clean-ups, presented to students at the University of Lethbridge, participated in the Lethbridge’s “Homeless Connect” event and hosted a booth at LHC’s World Hepatitis Day public barbecue.

 

LHC’s staff and board members are committed to the work of the agency and to its clients and partner agencies. To learn more about the Lethbridge HIV Connection and our work, please visit our website at www.lethbridgehiv.com.

  

 

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Rooftops Canada is celebrating its 25th Anniversary!

Rooftops Canada is the international development program of cooperative and social housing organizations in Canada. Since 1984, Rooftops Canada has been providing technical expertise and leadership in low-cost housing and human settlements development around the world. Rooftops Canada works with partner organizations to improve housing conditions, build sustainable communities and develop a shared vision of equitable global development.

Rooftops Canada is one of the leaders in identifying and responding to the critical link between housing and HIV and AIDS. RooftopsCanada-supported programs in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Kenya, Cameroon, Uganda and India as well as its African regional and international networking efforts all put HIV and AIDS on the housing and human settlements agenda. Our programs recognize that poor housing conditions intensify the impact of HIV and AIDS including, overcrowding, tenure insecurity, poor housing conditions and inadequate water and sanitation. We work with our partners, front line housing organizations to mainstream responses to HIV and AIDS within housing programs including increased understanding and awareness, more networking and public advocacy, training of peer educators leading to reduction in stigma and discrimination among housing groups and the initiation of community driven projects to improve nutrition, incomes and protects OVCs.

Featured Project:

The National Cooperative Housing Union (NACHU) is Rooftops Canada's oldest overseas partner. NACHU has provided leadership in the HIV and AIDS mainstreaming process within the housing cooperative sector in Kenya. Through the Build and Live program NACHU has envisioned an integrated approach to providing shelter and ensuring that the people live in the houses they build.

Together NACHU and Rooftops Canada have been exploring ways to engage youth and strengthen their role in leadership. NACHU has promoted youth working in small groups to establish cooperative enterprises that will both provide the members with meaningful employment and an income, and also support projects to prevent HIV and care for orphans and vulnerable children in their communities.

NACHU's work with young people recognizes that the future of Kenya's youth and the housing cooperative movement are tied together. Housing co-ops can help to turn Kenya's HIV epidemic around by mobilizing youth-driven responses to HIV and addressing underlying causes of youth vulnerability such as unemployment and lack of access to housing. The longevity of Kenya's cooperative housing sector depends on the engagement of the next generation of members.

To learn more about our Housing and HIV/AIDS projects please visit our website.

In March, 2010 Rooftops Canada and the Interagency Coalition on AIDS and Development worked together to develop a factsheet on Housing, HIV and AIDS.

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HIV Network of Edmonton Society

 

HIV Edmonton began in 1984 as the AIDS Network of Edmonton, led by Michael Phair and a group of concerned friends that gathered around his kitchen table to discuss the first public case of AIDS in Edmonton. The AIDS Network of Edmonton was incorporated on February 12, 1986. In July, 1999 the society changed its name to the HIV Network of Edmonton Society.

HIV Edmonton serves the city of Edmonton and surrounding regions by providing support and outreach services and community education programs. We have become committed to preventing the spread of infection through education, outreach, advocacy, and support. HIV Edmonton provides information on harm reduction, treatment information, a contemporary resource library, toll-free phone line, and volunteer training, as well as innovative programs such as Bodymapping and the Artist in Red Program.

HIV Edmonton announced the kick off of their 25^th Anniversary Campaign at an event held November 19, 2009 at the Fairmont Hotel MacDonald. The event celebrated the accomplishments of Michael Phair and those that joined him around his kitchen table in 1984 to embark upon a journey of hope. HIV Edmonton plans to honour the work of those champions as we reflect on 25 years of providing support, education and advocacy for those infected with, affected by, or at risk of HIV. The 25^th Anniversary will be a 15 month campaign, highlighted by various Legacy Projects and awareness events, culminating with a gala in 2011 to reflect when the agency was incorporated.

Sign up for HIV Edmonton's e-newsletter at www.hivedmonton.com for information on all Legacy Projects and events and help us celebrate our 25^th together!

 

	Contact: Joyce LaBriola Development and Communications This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Toll Free Phone: 1-877-388-5742 Phone: 780.488.5742 x230 Street Address: Suite 300, 11456 Jasper Avenue Edmonton, AB T5K 0M1
Annual Report 2009

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The AIDS Committee of Newfoundland and Labrador (ACNL) began in 1988 as a grassroots organization responding to need and crisis within the community. From its inception, the primary role has been to provide support to people living with HIV/AIDS. Over the past two decades, ACNL began to expand and diversify - again responding to needs within the community.

We have become committed to preventing the spread of infection through education; offering services that include advocacy, educational seminars, student outreach, harm reduction services, an active health fund for PHAs, treatment information, a contemporary resource library, toll-free phone line, volunteer training, an emergency shelter, and transitional housing for PHAs.

In 2006, ACNL officially moved to The Tommy Sexton Centre, and in so doing expanded its services to include the operation of a supportive housing complex for PHAs and a 4-bed emergency shelter for people at risk of infection or exposure.

Please visit the AIDS Committee of Newfoundland and Labrador website for more information and to learn about their services.

 

Contact: Christopher Pickard Executive Director ACNL This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Phone: 709-579-8656 Toll Free Line: 1-800-563-1575 Street Address: 47 Janeway Place St. John's, NL A1A 1R7