AIDS ACTION NOW launched the POSTER/virus project last Wednesday night at the Art Gallery of Ontario.
AAN and Toronto Drug Users Union member Zoe Dodd talks about her collaborative poster made with with John Greyson on harm reduction and prisions for the AAN POSTER/virus project. Zoe addresses Bill-C 10 and Harper’s prison expansion (aka Canada’s National Housing Strategy), government perpetrated genocide through defunding the Global Fund on AIDS, TB and Malaria, and the collective passion and fighting we need to step up in order to act against these attacks on our communities
Watch the video here of Zoe's Speech.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3cu_PKcVUw&feature=player_embedded
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS: Former federal prisoners and their family members/close friends (honorarium offered)
Hi all,
Please see the amended post below, with an extended deadline, information about the honorarium, as well as expanded criteria for participation.
Many thanks,
Sandra
CALL FOR PARTICIPANTS: Former federal prisoners and their family members/close friends (honorarium offered)
Video Advocacy Project on Human Rights and Prison Needle/Syringe Programs
In Canada, rates of HIV and hepatitis C infections among prisoners are at least 10 and 30 times higher, respectively, than in the population as a whole. One of the main reasons for this is the sharing of used needles to inject drugs. Yet, in spite of the overwhelming evidence of the benefits of prison-based needle and syringe programs (PNSPs), no Canadian prison permits the distribution of sterile injection equipment to prisoners. Prisoners’ health has suffered as a result — a reality that is costly to public health and to the public purse. It is also a violation of the human rights of prisoners.
This video advocacy project, being carried out by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network (www.aidslaw.ca) and partners, will put a human face on the prison experience by interviewing both people previously incarcerated in federal prisons for a drug-related offence or who were dependent on drugs while in prison, and their family members and close friends. We will hear firsthand how prison has affected the lives of prisoners and their loved ones, many of whom need treatment for their drug use or mental illness — not hard time, where they are more vulnerable to violence, overcrowding and blood-borne infections.
The Legal Network hopes to raise public awareness of the plight of Canadian prisoners through short, compelling video clips and commentary that highlight the fact that prisoners are mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, friends and contributing members of our community. We want to explore how the failed “war on drugs” has impacted prisoners and their loved ones.
We will interview five former prisoners and friends and family members of prisoners about how prison has affected them, and discuss how the absence of PNSPs continues to pose a threat to their loved ones’ health. Because we are focusing our advocacy efforts on getting PNSPs in federal prisons, we will only be able to interview people who have done time in federal prisons and their friends or family members. Once the video clips have been filmed, the Legal Network and partners will disseminate the clips on websites and through social media. We hope that the general public and policy makers will come to see the importance of having PNSPs and change policy and laws.
Who?
We are seeking individuals in the Toronto area only:
who have been incarcerated in a federal prison for a drug-related offence and/or while they were dependent on drugs;
who injected drugs behind bars; and
family members or friends of those individuals.
If you fit these criteria, email us by Wednesday, December 14th, 2011 at: schu@aidslaw.ca with your phone number and tell us also:
- What factors led to your (or your friend’s or family member’s) imprisonment?
- What was your (or your friend’s or family member’s) experience injecting drugs behind bars?
- What message would you like to send policy makers about the importance of PNSPs?
- Are you willing to appear on camera?
Given our limited budget, we can only feature five interviews of people fitting our criteria and we strive to interview men and women (including transgender men and women) who represent a diversity of experiences and backgrounds. For each interview, we will offer a $100 honorarium (if this is a joint interview, each participant will receive $50). We are especially interested in interviewing a former prisoner together with his or her family member or friend.
Interviews will take no longer than 45 minutes.
After the December 14th deadline, we will review all submissions and follow up with everyone who emailed us. While we appreciate everyone’s interest, we will only be able to film five interviews, though we will try to reflect, to the best of our ability, everyone’s perspective on PNSPs in the final videos.
Why now?
Under the current Canadian Government, it is highly unlikely that PNSPs will be implemented. Yet, the urgency for PNSPs has never been more pressing. With new legislation expected to add to overcrowding, violence and the number of people using drugs in prison, the public needs to be aware of the health risks associated with inadequate harm reduction measures in prison and how it affects them — especially when prisoners ultimately re-enter their community.
____________________________
Sandra Ka Hon Chu
Senior Policy Analyst
Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network
+1 416 595-1666 ext. 232
Analyste principale des politiques
Réseau juridique canadien VIH/sida
+1 416 595-1666 (poste 232)
Monday, November 28, 2011
AIDS ACTION NOW! POSTER/virus A fusion of HIV/Art/Activism
AIDS ACTION NOW! POSTER/virus A fusion of HIV/Art/Activism
Launch on November 30th DAY WITH(OUT) ART @ the ART GALLERY OF ONTARIO
6pm-8:30pm
Featuring performances by Kiki Ballroom Alliance and the Ontario Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Strategy
Speakers: Allyson Mitchell/Mikiki/Jessica Whitbread/Zoe Dodd/Collin Graham
DJs: Nik Red/Leila P.
Featuring works by: Kent Monkman/Allyson Mitchell/Daryl Vocat/John Greyson/Cecilia Berkovic/Mikiki with Scott Donald
See the posters here:http://aan-poster-virus-2011.tumblr.com/
It is 30 years into the AIDS epidemic, and we are still struggling. New forms of AIDS-phobia, discrimination and inequality continue to emerge including the increasing criminalization of people living with HIV. In Toronto, we are still facing proposed cuts to municipal funding for essential social services to address HIV, Hepatitis C and Syphilis. Federally in Canada, the climate of fear and austerity are increasing health inequalities for us all. It is clear that now more than ever, activism and art are needed to reinvigorate the response to HIV and AIDS.
This year, AIDS ACTION NOW is working to create a different kind of dialogue around HIV, in the art world, and on the street, in ways that hasn’t happened for a long time. Join us on November 30th for the Day With(out) Art: A fusion of HIV/Art/Activism at the Art Gallery of Ontario from 6-8:30pm.
In honor of the Day With(out) Art 2011, AIDS ACTION NOW has launched a poster series created by local Toronto artists Allyson Mitchell, Kent Monkman, John Greyson, Daryl Vocat, Cecilia Berkovic, and Mikiki with Scott Donald. The posters were developed collectively with community members working to respond to HIV. The posters aim to address important issues facing our lives as people living with HIV and/or who are co-infected with HIV and Hepatitis C including sexual rights, harm reduction, criminalization of HIV exposure, and the need for political action to address the epidemics.
Through merging the worlds of art and activism we are intentionally evoking the history of creative responses to HIV. Our aim is to provoke discussion, controversy and dialogue in a way traditional activism cannot. See the posters here (and watch as they are emerge around the city over the next 2 weeks): http://aan-poster-virus-2011.tumblr.com/
AIDS ACTION NOW!
POSTER/virus blog: http://aan-poster-virus-2011.tumblr.com/
Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=123780651065997
Acknowledgments: We would like to thank the Ontario Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Strategy, the International Community of Women Living with HIV (ICW), the Toronto Drug Users Union, the AIDS ACTION NOW Steering Committee, Doe O’Brien Teengs, Andrew Brett, Zoe Dodd, Len Tooley, Nicole Greenspan, Tim McCaskell, Brent Southin, Allyson Mitchell, Kent Monkman, John Greyson, Daryl Vocat, Cecilia Berkovic, Scott Donald, Mikiki, the AGO Youth Council, and the York University Faculty of Environmental Studies Community Arts Program.
www.aidsactionnow.org
This year, AIDS ACTION NOW is working to create a different kind of dialogue around HIV, in the art world, and on the street, in ways that hasn’t happened for a long time. Join us on November 30th for the Day With(out) Art: A fusion of HIV/Art/Activism at the Art Gallery of Ontario from 6-8:30pm.
In honor of the Day With(out) Art 2011, AIDS ACTION NOW has launched a poster series created by local Toronto artists Allyson Mitchell, Kent Monkman, John Greyson, Daryl Vocat, Cecilia Berkovic, and Mikiki with Scott Donald. The posters were developed collectively with community members working to respond to HIV. The posters aim to address important issues facing our lives as people living with HIV and/or who are co-infected with HIV and Hepatitis C including sexual rights, harm reduction, criminalization of HIV exposure, and the need for political action to address the epidemics.
Through merging the worlds of art and activism we are intentionally evoking the history of creative responses to HIV. Our aim is to provoke discussion, controversy and dialogue in a way traditional activism cannot. See the posters here (and watch as they are emerge around the city over the next 2 weeks): http://aan-poster-virus-2011.tumblr.com/
AIDS ACTION NOW!
POSTER/virus blog: http://aan-poster-virus-2011.tumblr.com/
Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=123780651065997
Acknowledgments: We would like to thank the Ontario Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Strategy, the International Community of Women Living with HIV (ICW), the Toronto Drug Users Union, the AIDS ACTION NOW Steering Committee, Doe O’Brien Teengs, Andrew Brett, Zoe Dodd, Len Tooley, Nicole Greenspan, Tim McCaskell, Brent Southin, Allyson Mitchell, Kent Monkman, John Greyson, Daryl Vocat, Cecilia Berkovic, Scott Donald, Mikiki, the AGO Youth Council, and the York University Faculty of Environmental Studies Community Arts Program.
www.aidsactionnow.org
Harm Reduction as an Anarchist Practice
presented by the Toronto Harm Reduction Task Force
Friday December 2 Speakers Series Presentation
Harm Reduction as an Anarchist Practice: a user’s guide to capitalism
and addiction in North America 2 –4 pm. @ 410 Sherbourne Street,
3rd Floor Classroom
Presenter: Christopher Smith
In spite of its origins as an illegal, clandestine, grassroots
activity that took place either outside or in defiant opposition to
state and legal authority, there is growing evidence to suggest that
harm reduction in North America has become sanitized and depoliticized
in its institutionalization as public health policy. Harm reduction
remains the most contested and controversial aspect of drug policy on
both sides of the Canada-US border, yet the institutionalization of
harm reduction in each national context demonstrates a series of stark
contrasts. Arguing that the founding philosophy and spirit of the
harm reduction movement represents a fundamentally anarchist-inspired
form of practice, Christopher Smith considers tactics for reclaiming
and re-politicizing the future of harm reduction in North America.
Currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at U Pennsylvania, Christopher’s
current research examines consumer involvement in the addiction and
mental health sectors, underground harm reduction interventions in
Canada and the US, and global drug user capacity building initiatives.
His forthcoming book, “ Addiction, Modernity and the City: A users’
guide to urban space” will be published in 2012
Friday December 2 Speakers Series Presentation
Harm Reduction as an Anarchist Practice: a user’s guide to capitalism
and addiction in North America 2 –4 pm. @ 410 Sherbourne Street,
3rd Floor Classroom
Presenter: Christopher Smith
In spite of its origins as an illegal, clandestine, grassroots
activity that took place either outside or in defiant opposition to
state and legal authority, there is growing evidence to suggest that
harm reduction in North America has become sanitized and depoliticized
in its institutionalization as public health policy. Harm reduction
remains the most contested and controversial aspect of drug policy on
both sides of the Canada-US border, yet the institutionalization of
harm reduction in each national context demonstrates a series of stark
contrasts. Arguing that the founding philosophy and spirit of the
harm reduction movement represents a fundamentally anarchist-inspired
form of practice, Christopher Smith considers tactics for reclaiming
and re-politicizing the future of harm reduction in North America.
Currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at U Pennsylvania, Christopher’s
current research examines consumer involvement in the addiction and
mental health sectors, underground harm reduction interventions in
Canada and the US, and global drug user capacity building initiatives.
His forthcoming book, “ Addiction, Modernity and the City: A users’
guide to urban space” will be published in 2012
Thursday, September 29, 2011
In Solidarity with Insite!!!!
Join COUNTERfit and The Toronto Drug Users Union at South Riverdale Community Health Centre Friday September 30 at 9:30am as the Supreme Court of Canada’s hands down its written decision regarding Vancouver’s Insite. Insite is North America’s first legal supervised safe injection site. The scientific evidence in support of Insite is undisputable and many, many people’s lives have been saved since it opened its doors in 2003.
Tomorrow we will gather in solidarity with supporters of Vancouver’s Insite and harm reduction activists around Canada and internationally who all agree that people who use drugs deserve the same rights to health and dignity as every other human being. We will either be celebrating the Supreme Court’s decision to support Insite or strategizing ways to organize in resistance.
Location & Time:
South Riverdale Community Health Centre
955 Queen Street East, Toronto
9:30am
See you tomorrow!
COUNTERfit & the TDUU
Tomorrow we will gather in solidarity with supporters of Vancouver’s Insite and harm reduction activists around Canada and internationally who all agree that people who use drugs deserve the same rights to health and dignity as every other human being. We will either be celebrating the Supreme Court’s decision to support Insite or strategizing ways to organize in resistance.
Location & Time:
South Riverdale Community Health Centre
955 Queen Street East, Toronto
9:30am
See you tomorrow!
COUNTERfit & the TDUU
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Wendy Babcock, our Friend, Ally and a Huge Loss to our Community....
Wednesday August 31, 2011
Community activist, law student, writer, mentor, sister, mother, friend. Born May 29, 1980, in
Wendy Babcock
Community activist, law student, writer, mentor, sister, mother, friend. Born May 29, 1980, in Toronto Toronto
August 31, 2011
Wendy Babcock had a tough, amazing, terrible, wonderful, all-too-short life. It could even be said that she lived several different lives in her 31 years.
When she died so suddenly, so unexpectedly, a host of diverse people, from sex-trade workers to law students - members of her chosen family - showed up to plan her memorial service, for Wendy had been both a sex worker and a law student.
Wendy's childhood was less than idyllic, and she suffered sexual abuse at a very early age at the hands of a relative. Eventually she went into the foster care system. By eighth grade she had been raped. By ninth grade she had run away, dropped out and, of necessity, become engaged in prostitution to survive.
You'd hardly expect that, before the age of 25, a young woman with her history would have the wherewithal to turn such experiences into something good, but that's exactly what Wendy did. She became a harm reduction worker, a mother and, ultimately, a student at Osgoode Hall Law School
Wendy's goal was to be in a position to effect real change in the lives of some of the most marginalized people in society. With her uncanny ability to zero in on the fault line of any argument, the wisdom borne of her life experiences, her capacity for critical analysis and her persuasive powers, there can be no doubt that she would have been one hell of a lawyer.
Along her way, Wendy founded the Bad Date Coalition - an interagency network of people who advocate for those working in the sex trade. She won the ear and respect of representatives of the Toronto Police Service and worked with them to ensure that sex workers could and would report assault.
Wendy had a razor-sharp wit mixed with the endearing ability to laugh at herself. She was clever, compassionate and courageous; sweet and sassy, lovely and loving. She was tolerant of everything but intolerance in others; her activism on behalf of transgendered people is but one testament to this.
In 2008, then-mayor David Miller presented Wendy with a Toronto Public Health Champion Award in recognition of her advocacy work, an award she richly deserved.
On Sept. 15, Wendy's life will be celebrated by a huge gathering of her friends and colleagues. We will continue her work to fight stigma and discrimination, and toward social inclusion for all, in her memory.
Her son was the most important person in Wendy's world, and she wanted him to be as proud of her as she was of him. Those who knew and loved Wendy are confident that, in a few short years when he's old enough to realize the profound impact his mother had on so many lives, he will be justly proud.
By Holly Kramer, Wendy's friend and colleague.
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