ABRPO

October is 2SLGBTQIA+ History Month in Canada - a time to honour the courage, resilience, and advocacy of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities while recognizing the work that still lies ahead.

Our history is one of both joy and struggle. It holds stories of resistance, chosen family, community care, and profound loss. From the HIV epidemic to ongoing experiences of discrimination, many 2SLGBTQIA+ people continue to carry personal and collective grief while creating spaces of hope, belonging, and healing.

Remembering our history is an act of resilience. By acknowledging the experiences of those who came before us, we honour those we have lost, celebrate those who continue to lead change, and strengthen our commitment to creating communities where everyone can live with dignity, safety, and belonging.

This month, we honour the advocates, activists, Elders, Peers, and Community Members whose voices have shaped a more inclusive future - and we stand alongside those continuing that work today.

💙 Every story matters. Every life has value. Every act of care helps build a stronger, more compassionate community.

On the International Day of Older Persons, we are sharing our resource, Still Surviving and Thriving, which amplifies the voices and stories of Long-term Survivors (LTS) of HIV.

In this resource, we hear from people who survived the AIDS crisis, as well as Long-term Survivors who were diagnosed in the years since. Their stories speak to survival, thriving, community, isolation, stigma, acceptance, and the many ways people continue to navigate life with HIV.

Check out the link in our bio to explore Still Surviving and Thriving.

This year’s International Day of Older Persons theme, “Resilience of Older People in a Changing World,” recognizes the strength, wisdom, and contributions of older adults and the many ways they enrich our families and communities.

Aging can bring many forms of loss and transition — the death of loved ones, changes in health, retirement, relationships, independence, home, or community. These experiences can bring grief and bereavement, even when those losses are not always recognized by others.

At ABRPO, we believe resilience does not mean “bouncing back” or simply moving on. Resilience can mean adapting to change, finding new sources of connection, carrying memories forward, and having someone willing to listen and walk alongside us.

Supportive grief care means:
• Making space for conversations about loss.
• Listening without judgment or expectations.
• Recognizing that grief has no fixed timeline.
• Honouring memories, wisdom, and lived experiences.
• Supporting connection, belonging, and community.

Resilience is not about grieving alone. It is about having the compassion, connection, and support we need as we navigate life’s changes and losses.

Today, we honour older adults, Long-term Survivors, and the many experiences, memories, wisdom, and contributions they continue to bring to our communities.

Today, on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, ABRPO honours the Survivors of residential schools, their families, communities, and all those whose lives continue to be affected by ongoing colonization on Turtle Island.

Residential schools were part of an intentional cultural genocide by the British and Canadian governments and religious institutions that created losses of family, language, culture, access to land, tradition, and ceremony. The legacy of the harm of these losses continues today with disproportionate rates of HIV, drug toxicity, and incarceration among Indigenous folks. But the legacies of Indigenous resistance have maintained cultures, languages, and traditions to this day, and we know they are a source of healing for the traumas of colonization.

At ABRPO, we believe in the power of relationships, community, lived and living experience, and creating spaces where people can come together to share, learn, grieve, heal, and support one another. We recognize that reconciliation is an ongoing journey that requires humility, accountability, and a commitment to learning from Indigenous Peoples and communities.

Today and every day, we encourage everyone to take time to listen to Indigenous voices, reflect on what reconciliation means in our own work and communities, and consider what actions we can take to uplift Indigenous sovereignty and treaty relations.

We remember. We listen. We learn. We act.

🧡 Every Child Matters.

It has been 10 years since these three powerful words were put into words: Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U). In those 10 years, we have come a long way in challenging misinformation, reducing HIV-related stigma and discrimination, and sharing the truth about what it means to live with HIV. U=U has transformed conversations about HIV and helped us move from fear and misinformation toward knowledge, connection, and empowerment.

Each year we review our process and progress with our Truth & Reconciliation Calls to Action commitments. We've been getting educated on Indigenous learning methods and exploring ways to make online learning more experiential and wholistic in our resource releases this year, and we'll be revisiting past online learning resources to update them in the coming year. It's been an exciting process of unlearning the ways we think people learn, and figuring out how to make people active participants in their learning.

SAVE THE DATE! Wednesday October 21, 2026 from 1:00 - 3:00pm for our next TTOA virtual Meeting.

We will be exploring Grief in the Body. We know that Grief is not only something we feel in our hearts or think about in our minds. Grief can live in the body, too. A loss can show up as tiredness, tension, changes in sleep or appetite, headaches, heaviness, restlessness, or a feeling that something just does not feel right.

For people and communities living with HIV, working in Harm Reduction, or carrying the weight of repeated loss, grief can take many forms. We may grieve people we have lost, changes in our health, relationships, community, identity, or the loss of a sense of safety and connection.

Sometimes our bodies are holding stories that we have not yet found words for. Recognizing grief in the body can be an important part of caring for ourselves and one another. We can slow down, notice what we are experiencing, and give ourselves permission to respond with compassion rather than judgment.

Your grief deserves space. Your body deserves care. And you do not have to carry it alone.

To register, please email [email protected]

Celebrate Bisexuality Day 💜💙🩷

Today, we celebrate the beauty, diversity, joy, and resilience of Bisexual, Pansexual, and Gender-Diverse communities.

Celebrate Bisexuality Day is an opportunity to recognize and affirm the identities, experiences, and contributions of people who are attracted to more than one gender. It is also a reminder that visibility, affirmation, and belonging matter.

For some Bi+ people, experiences of stigma, erasure, rejection, and misunderstanding can create losses that are not always recognized as grief. Losing relationships, family connections, community, safety, or the freedom to openly express who we are can have a lasting impact. When these losses go unrecognized or unsupported, people may experience what is sometimes called disenfranchised grief - grief that others may not fully understand, acknowledge, or validate.

At ABRPO, we believe supportive grief and bereavement care begins with creating space for people's experiences to be heard and honoured. Through grief-informed, trauma-informed, and inclusive approaches, we recognize that people can carry both grief and joy, sometimes at the same time. Connection, affirmation, and community can play an important role in navigating loss and finding a renewed sense of belonging.

Today, let's:
- Celebrate Bi+ identities, experiences, and joy.
- Challenge stereotypes, stigma, and the erasure of Bi+ people.
- Recognize the losses that may accompany rejection, discrimination, and invisibility.
- Listen to people's experiences without asking them to justify or explain their identity.
- Create spaces where everyone can feel seen, affirmed, connected, and supported.

Everyone deserves to be recognized for who they are - and to have their experiences, losses, and joys honoured.

Today, we celebrate Bi+ communities and continue building a world where people can show up as their authentic selves, find belonging, and never have to navigate grief or loss alone.

HIV Resources Ontario (HRO) will be hosting an online session in recognition of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Monday, September 28, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

This session will provide an opportunity to come together to learn, reflect, and honour Residential School Survivors, their families and communities, while deepening our understanding of the ongoing journey toward truth and reconciliation.

To register for this session please use the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/H-JKVbUHQSKnrZRGvT1NaA #/registration

Gender Equality Week 💜

Gender equality is about creating communities where everyone - regardless of gender identity or expression - has equitable access to safety, respect, care, opportunity, and the support they need to live and thrive.

Gender inequities can shape how people experience health, trauma, discrimination, loss, and grief. Women, Transgender, Non-Binary, and Gender-Diverse people may experience losses that are not always recognized or understood by others. These can include the loss of relationships, safety, housing, employment, community, identity, or a sense of belonging.

Grief is not experienced in isolation from the world around us. Stigma, discrimination, violence, and barriers to care can affect how we grieve, whether our losses are acknowledged, and whether we feel safe asking for support.

At ABRPO, we believe supportive grief and bereavement care begins with listening, believing people's experiences, and creating space for every person to grieve in ways that are meaningful to them. A grief-informed approach recognizes that there is no single way to experience loss - and no single timeline for healing.

This Gender Equality Week, we encourage everyone to:
- Listen to and honour lived and living experience.
- Recognize the many forms that loss and grief can take.
- Challenge stigma, discrimination, and assumptions about gender.
- Create spaces where people feel safe to be themselves and share their experiences.
- Offer compassion and support without judgment or expectations about how someone “should” grieve.
- Advocate for equitable access to care, community, and the resources people need to navigate loss and change.

Gender equality is about more than equal opportunity. It is about creating communities where everyone has the dignity, safety, belonging, and support to move through life's challenges - including grief and loss.

This Gender Equality Week, let's continue building communities where every person is seen, heard, respected, and supported - not only in times of celebration, but also through times of loss, change, and grief.

September 18 is National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day.

Today, we recognize the resilience, strength, and leadership of individuals aging with HIV, including the long-term survivors whose lived experiences have shaped the HIV response for more than four decades.

Thanks to advances in treatment, individuals living with HIV are living longer, healthier lives. Yet aging with HIV can also bring unique challenges, including managing long-term health conditions, navigating stigma, experiencing grief from the loss of friends and community, and facing social isolation.

At ABRPO, we know that grief and resilience often exist side by side. We honour the experiences of long-term survivors, recognize the lasting impact of the HIV epidemic, and remain committed to supporting emotional well-being through grief-informed, trauma-informed, and peer-based approaches.

Today, we celebrate the wisdom, advocacy, and contributions of older adults living with HIV. Together, let's continue working toward communities where everyone can age with dignity, connection, and hope.