ABRPO

On August 7, 1994, the 10th International AIDS Conference opened in Yokohama, Japan, bringing together thousands of researchers, healthcare providers, advocates, and people living with HIV from around the world.

At a time when effective treatment options were still limited, the conference reinforced that responding to HIV required more than scientific advances. It called for confronting stigma, expanding equitable access to care, protecting human rights, and ensuring that the voices and lived experiences of people living with HIV were at the centre of the response.

More than 30 years later, those lessons continue to guide our work. Peer leadership, compassion, equity, and community remain essential to building a future where everyone affected by HIV is supported, valued, and heard.

As we reflect on this milestone in HIV history, we honour those who paved the way, recognize the resilience of our communities, and reaffirm our commitment to learning from one another, advocating together, and ensuring that no one is left behind.

WAVES OF GRIEF, CURRENTS OF LIBERATION

Check out our wholistic resource for making space for grief in our bodies, minds, and spirits. This can be a preparation for Prisoners' Justice Day or International Overdose Day, when we put aside our grief to focus on the planning but it comes flooding in when the events are over. Created in collaboration with Yami Msosa, The Public Studio, and ABRPO. LINK IN OUR BIO.

HIV History - August 5, 1994

On this day a breakthrough in HIV care changed countless lives. The U.S. Public Health Service recommended the use of AZT (zidovudine) during pregnancy after research showed it could dramatically reduce the risk of HIV being passed from parent to baby.

This milestone reminds us that progress is made through research, advocacy, the voices of people with lived experience, and equitable access to care. It also reflects what is possible when communities, healthcare providers, and advocates work together to improve health outcomes.

Today, effective antiretroviral therapy (ART) allows people living with HIV to have healthy pregnancies, with the risk of perinatal HIV transmission reduced to less than 1% when HIV is effectively treated.

As we reflect on this moment in HIV history, we honour those whose courage, advocacy, and participation in research helped make these advances possible. Their legacy continues to shape a future grounded in compassion, resilience, dignity, and hope.

Every August, we recognize and celebrate the rich history, resilience, leadership, and contributions of Transgender, Non-Binary, and Gender-diverse people. Transgender History Month is an opportunity to honour those who have fought for visibility, dignity, human rights, and equitable access to healthcare and social supports.

It is also a time to reflect on the ongoing barriers that many Transgender people continue to face, including stigma, discrimination, violence, and inequitable access to services. Building safer, more inclusive communities requires all of us to challenge transphobia, listen to lived experiences, and advocate for meaningful change.

As we celebrate Transgender History Month, we honour the trailblazers who paved the way, uplift the voices of transgender people today, and reaffirm our commitment to equity, inclusion, and justice for all.

Trans rights are human rights.

Tomorrow is the final day to apply.

Call for Applications: ABRPO Advisory Committee

The AIDS Bereavement and Resiliency Program of Ontario (ABRPO) is seeking committed and passionate individuals from across Ontario to join its Advisory Committee. This committee will play a critical role in guiding ABRPO’s work to support individuals, organizations, and communities impacted by HIV/AIDS-related grief, trauma, and loss.

To learn more about the role, please visit the link in our bio.

Today, on World Hepatitis Day, we raise awareness about viral hepatitis and recognize the impact it continues to have on individuals, families, and communities around the world.

For many people living with or affected by hepatitis, the journey can include experiences of stigma, discrimination, isolation, and loss. Within HIV and Harm Reduction communities, hepatitis has touched countless lives, and many continue to grieve friends, loved ones, and community members lost to hepatitis-related illness.

Grief associated with hepatitis is often overlooked. The stigma surrounding substance use and hepatitis can create disenfranchised grief - grief that is not always acknowledged, validated, or supported by society.

World Hepatitis Day is also a reminder that prevention, testing, treatment, and harm reduction save lives. By increasing access to care, challenging stigma, and supporting people where they are, we can help reduce the impact of hepatitis on our communities.

Today, we honour those we have lost, support those living with hepatitis, and recommit ourselves to building healthcare and social service systems rooted in dignity, equity, compassion, and care.

Many of us woke this morning to the devastating news of an attack on the 2SLGBTQ+ community at Berlin Pride.

"They'll never erase us. We'll never be gone." These powerful words, spoken by a participant at this year's Berlin Pride festival, remind us of the resilience and strength of our communities. Tragically, they were spoken after a vehicle was driven into a crowd, killing one person and injuring 29 others.

Today, we mourn the life that was lost, hold those who were injured and their loved ones in our hearts, and stand in solidarity with the 2SLGBTQ+ community in Berlin and around the world.

Acts of hatred and violence will never diminish the courage, joy, and pride of our communities. We continue to show up for one another, honour those we've lost, and work toward a future where everyone can gather safely, authentically, and without fear.

As many of us across Ontario, Canada, and around the world have yet to celebrate Pride this year, when we do, we will march in remembrance and in solidarity - not only for those impacted in Berlin, but for every member of our community who has experienced hate, violence, and discrimination. Our Pride has always been an act of resilience, resistance, and hope.

To our 2SLGBTQ+ community - our family - we see you, we stand with you, and we will continue to raise our voices together.

In the HIV/AIDS and Harm Reduction sectors, Peers and Workers often give so much of themselves to support the individuals and communities they serve that their own needs can be overlooked.

Over time, this can contribute to stress, compassion fatigue, secondary trauma, and burnout.
Self-care is not a luxury - it is an essential practice that helps us maintain our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being. By making self-care a regular part of our daily lives, we can build resilience, strengthen our ability to support others, and sustain ourselves in this important work.

Self-care looks different for everyone and may include setting healthy boundaries, taking breaks, connecting with supportive people, engaging in activities that bring joy, prioritizing rest, or seeking professional support when needed. Taking care of ourselves allows us to continue showing up for our communities in meaningful and sustainable ways.

Remember: caring for yourself is an important part of caring for others.

DEADLINE EXTENDED TO JULY 31, 2026

Call for Applications: ABRPO Advisory Committee

The AIDS Bereavement and Resiliency Program of Ontario (ABRPO) is seeking committed and passionate individuals from across Ontario to join its Advisory Committee. This committee will play a critical role in guiding ABRPO’s work to support individuals, organizations, and communities impacted by HIV/AIDS-related grief, trauma, and loss.

To learn more about the role, please visit the link in our bio.

Yesterday was International Drug Users Remembrance Day. We honour and remember the lives of people who have died due to overdose, drug poisoning, stigma, criminalization, and the many systemic barriers faced by people who use drugs.

This day is an opportunity to acknowledge the profound grief experienced by individuals, families, friends, Peers, and communities. For many working and volunteering in HIV and Harm Reduction sectors, this grief is ongoing. We carry the memories of those we have lost while continuing to support those who remain at risk.

Too often, the deaths of people who use drugs are met with judgment, silence, or indifference. This can create disenfranchised grief - grief that is not fully recognized, validated, or supported by society. Every life lost matters, and every person deserves to be remembered with dignity and respect.

As we reflect today, we recommit ourselves to advancing harm reduction, challenging stigma, and advocating for evidence-based policies and services that save lives. We also recognize the leadership, resilience, and expertise of people who use drugs, whose voices continue to shape stronger, more compassionate communities.

Everyday we remember. Everyday we mourn. Everyday we honour. Everyday we continue the work of building a future where every life is valued.