Black History Month & National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
Out looks at the intersection of Black history and queer history (Out)
“We, too, have been here, have been Black and queer, and still aren’t going anywhere,” says Out’s Culture and Entertainment Director Tre’vell Anderson.
What Black Women Need To Know About HIV (Essence)
“The most recent data shows that Black women account for 60 percent of new HIV diagnoses among all women living in the U.S. In addition, we are 20 times more likely to contract HIV than their white counterparts. Even worse, positive Black women have a higher death rate than women of all other races and ethnicities.”
ACB Health Zone launched at Sandy Hill (Black Ottawa Scene)
” The ACB Health Zone aims to reduce rates of HIV, Hep C and other sexually transmitted blood born infections (STBBI) among ACB communities in Ottawa, by addressing the key social determinants of health, which create vulnerability and health/social inequities for ACB populations. “
Stigma
Language around drug use can make recovery harder (CBC)
“Amanda Dick says she would have sought help for substance use sooner but worried about being labelled an ‘addict.’ Many medical professionals agree that the stigmatized language around addiction creates a barrier for those who need treatment.”
Positively Positive Woman (POZ)
“I have been living with HIV for more than 12 years. Still to this day it baffles me when people try to use this as a reason to insult me. I must admit often times, more than not, I forget about it. I forget that it’s like the stamp of the whore or witch from the trials of our earlier centuries. I forget that I and my fellow sisters and brothers living with this virus are marred by a scarlet letter. That to so many we are marked and less than. We are an embarrassment or some shameful thing.”
Housing
City of Ottawa not getting nearly as much federal funding as it hoped for affordable housing (Ottawa Matters)
“A new report, that will be presented to the city’s Community and Protective Services on February 21, shows that Ottawa will only be getting $608,000 from the feds. “
More affordable housing and safer Ottawa communities laid out as priorities in city’s 2019 draft budget (Ottawa Matters)
“Ottawa’s economy is booming, but we can’t lose sight of our most vulnerable residents,” said Mayor Jim Watson. “As such, we are proposing the largest one-year investment in affordable housing in the city’s history. We are focussed on keeping the city affordable, while still delivering better roads and transit, and safer communities.”
HIV Criminalization
Advocates call on provinces to develop consistent policies on limiting HIV prosecutions (Globe and Mail)
“Inconsistent policies mean that HIV-positive people in most provinces may fear being threatened with prosecution by partners who have no basis for a complaint and could even shun treatment based on stigma and discrimination, Elliott said.”
HIV & Aging
LGBTQ seniors wary of being ‘out’ in long-term care facilities (CBC)
“LGBTQ seniors who were part of the long battle against discrimination and who’ve been “out” for years are now worried they’ll have to hide their sexual orientation as they face the need to move into long-term care facilities.”
Does HIV Age The Mind And Body? (HIV plus mag)
“A new study helps explain why people with HIV age faster than their HIV-negative counterparts, despite similar lifestyles. Additionally, the findings might offer poz people the ability to calculate how many years certain factors are adding to their biological age.”