FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Stop AIDS. Keep the promise for Asians!

(Toronto, ON - Nov 29th, 2006) Dec 1st is World AIDS Day, and it’s also ACAS’ twelfth birthday. On this occasion, ACAS is addressing the community’s need, especially the needs of the systemically marginalized groups including women, youth and non-English speaking people. ACAS is expanding our Women’s Program; launching a multilingual youth testing brochure, “Are You Positive?”; and introducing a new version of the web site which includes the full site in traditional Chinese, plus brief pages in four other Asian languages.

ACAS has seen a 70% increase in HIV positive East & Southeast Asian women clients in the last 3 years. Research suggests that surveillance data does not provide a full picture of the epidemic and issues faced by this understudied and underserved population. Asian women have been widely overlooked due to a misconception that they are not at risk. We are expanding our services to Asian women in order to begin to address these gaps. ACAS’ services for women include prevention education and outreach, social activities, peer support, and counselling for positive women and their families. Working with diverse East and Southeast Asian women, queer women, trans women, immigrant and refugee women, sex workers, and other marginalized women, these services are provided in a culturally appropriate manner in a variety of languages.

The “Are You Positive?” brochure is presented by our Youth Program. In six languages (English, Korean, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese) it aims to demystify the process of HIV–testing for East & Southeast Asian youth across Toronto. By addressing the lack of Asian language HIV/AIDS resources, the brochure is an important step towards combating the cultural, linguistic and systemic barriers that Asian youth in Toronto face in attempting to access HIV/AIDS and sexual health information. We have two youth members willing to talk to media about their own experiences of HIV testing. Please contact us for further arrangement.

The ACAS web site first launched in 2000. As the Internet is fast becoming the major information source, ACAS is constantly improving the site to keep up with the demand. On Dec 1st, we will launch a brand new design, as well as a Chinese version of the site. It will also include brief pages for four other Asian languages – Tagalog, Vietnamese, Korean and Simplified Chinese. We continue to strive to serve our communities better. For more information, please log on to www.acas.org

It’s a fast pace world out there, and we are doing everything we can to keep up. Our goal is to “Stop AIDS,” and that’s a promise we will keep until AIDS is totally eliminated from this world. By expanding our reach and scope, we are working harder than ever to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS in the city’s many diverse communities.
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Contact:
Duncan Lau (Media Coordinator)
416-963-4300 ext. 46
647-898-7321 (Cell)

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Asian Community AIDS Services (ACAS) is a charitable, non-profit, community-based organization providing HIV/AIDS education and support services to the East and South East Asian communities in Toronto.