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Peer To Peer Program

The Peer Engagement Program is focused on building competency, self-efficacy, and leadership skills of Peers.

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Survive To Thrive 2.0

If you are a person living with HIV and you like learning more about yourself; connecting with peers; and self-care activity; this retreat is for you.

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This Overdose Awareness Day, we invite you to join community in mourning those we have lost to preventable drug poisonings. This crisis has gone on for far too long without adequate action. This year we also grieve losing evidence-based life-saving services that will worsen this overdose crisis. 💜

For THRIVE’s street outreach programs, socks are one of the most requested items. The folks that we support on a daily basis spend a lot of time on their feet and feet are the foundation of the entire body. Folks living outside are very susceptible to elements like rain, snow, and the cold. Ailments such as trench foot and frostbite are common and can be extremely dangerous, especially when living outside without reliable access to healthcare. Having clean, dry socks that are able to be changed as needed is extremely important to overall health, wellbeing, and comfort. Having a consistent supply of socks to hand out to folks is a big help to THRIVE and its participants. 🧦

#ToastyToesFund #Community #SOCKS

Since 2000, the Tracking (In)Justice Project documented 134 deaths of women, two trans women, one trans man, and one Two-Spirit person in custody in Ontario. The gender of 730 individuals (30.7%) could not be confirmed due to lack of gender-based reporting by the Ontario government. These deaths highlight the importance of recognizing the experiences of gender-diverse people in custody. These numbers represent the loss of real human beings with a family, a community, and a life.
The circumstances surrounding these deaths frequently reflect the complex health and social needs of women and gender-diverse people in custody. Research consistently demonstrates that incarcerated women experience disproportionately high rates of trauma, substance use, chronic illness, mental health disabilities, and histories of violence, requiring comprehensive and gender-responsive approaches to care.
The death of Shannon Nichole Sargent, a 34 year old Indigenous woman, illustrates many of these intersecting issues. Sargent died at the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre from cardiac complications associated with chronic intravenous drug use shortly after being admitted to custody following heart surgery. Following an inquest, the jury returned the finding of homicide, concluding that deliberate and deceitful failures on behalf of the prison. Sargent's case demonstrates how individual deaths often reveal broader systemic challenges at the intersection of prison systems, health care delivery, and institutional duty to care.
Criminalization disproportionately affects people living with HIV who experience poverty, substance use, homelessness, and systemic discrimination, increasing incarceration. When continuity of HIV care, access to treatment, and timely medical intervention are disrupted in custody, the consequences can be severe, contributing to preventable illness, worsening health outcomes, and, in some cases, deaths in custody. Recognizing these intersecting risks is essential to preventing avoidable deaths and ensuring that people living with HIV receive equitable, evidence-based care throughout incarceration and upon release.

#PrisonersJusticeDay

August 1st is Emancipation Day. Today acknowledges Canada’s role in the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the end of slavery across the British Empire when the Slavery Abolition Act came into effect on August 1st, 1834. We also acknowledge the legacy of anti-Black racism left by slavery that continues to persist, and that Emancipation Day cannot be celebrated without recognizing these ongoing realities.

WHAI is committed to continuing to learn about and work to address the ongoing impacts of Canada's historic and on-going anti-Black racism and how these lead to the disproportionate impact of HIV and adverse health outcomes for Black communities, particularly for Black women and gender-diverse people. In our work, WHAI will continue to strengthen our work to rupture systems that uphold and perpetuate white supremacy and to be active and intentional co-conspirators in the fight against anti-Black racism.

#EmancipationDay

Calling on Gay, Bi, and Queer men who have used Meth for the first time in the last three years to check out this important study. It's confidential and compensation is provided.

For more information, check out the link below or email: optic@camh.ca

https://www.camh.ca/.../ontario-project-on-trends-in-the...

PEP or POST-Exposure Prophylaxis (not to be confused with PrEP, which is PRE-Exposure) is another helpful tool for HIV prevention. Taken after experiencing an event where there's a high likelihood of someone getting HIV, it is most effective when taken within 72 hours after the exposure!

The time-sensitive nature of this tool and the knowledge gap about its existence and where to get it make access to it challenging for most folks who need it. Tell a friend or keep the info handy for when you may need it!

#HIVPrevention #SaferSex #HIVPEP

Thank you to everyone who stopped by the World Hep C Day Cambridge event today! We are grateful for the conversations, connections and support. Your presence made it truly special. A special thank you to our amazing team and community partners for helping make today possible. 🌎️ 🫶

July 21st is Zero HIV Stigma Day! Stigma is still the main barrier to address HIV prevention, testing, care, and support. It makes it difficult to have conversations about HIV, leading to many people unable to access preventative tools, HIV tests, or even treatment.

Stigma stems from deeper causes that will take time to fully remove from society, but there are ways to slowly address it: seek out information on HIV, changing your perspective, and getting involved with HIV organizations and groups!

#HIV #HIVStigma #EndStigma #HIVTesting #HIVPrevention #HIVTreatment #HIVCare

🌡️ Extreme Weather Update 🌡️

As severe heat continues to impact our region, our street outreach team is actively providing life-saving supplies to unsheltered community members. But we cannot do it without your help!

We created an Amazon Wishlist with our most needed items that our street outreach teams give to community members - this includes essentials such as backpacks, blankets, and personal hygiene products.

🛒 How to Help:
✅️ Go to our Amazon Wishlist through the QR code or link in bio (https://a.co/095IZmUW)
✅️ Choose an item you would like to donate
✅️ Add it to your cart and complete checkout
✅️ Amazon ships it directly to us

If you make a purchase, please consider sending us a message through a gift note so we can properly thank you.

#CommunitySupport #StreetOutreach #NeighboursHelpingNeighbours #Prevention

Knowing keeps you on top of things!

Knowing your HIV status can help you make decisions for your sexual health, and there are different ways to learn about your status: there's the conventional blood draw from laboratories, and we have self-test kits that can help you get the test done where you feel safest doing it!

Check out our Linktree to book a coaching session for HIV self-tests!

#hivtest #sexualhealth #safersex

Pride celebrations continue! Join us at Ayr Pride! Drop by our booth to say hi and for cool swag, fun games, and to learn a thing or two about HIV, prevention, testing, and support.

#safersex #pride #hivprevention #hivtesting #hivsupport

July is Disability Pride Month! This month witnesses the anniversary of the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the United States on July 26, 1990, and more recently the Accessible Canada Act that came into action on July 11, 2019. Disability Pride Month celebrates everyone living with a disability, their identities, communities, and contributions while also acknowledging the ongoing barriers of inaccessibility and those who have been lost due to ableist violence and systemic neglect.

Accessibility is a crucial component to HIV prevention, testing, treatment and support. People living with HIV may experience episodic disability, where they go through periods of impairment or limitations due to their illness. Having a disability can also make it difficult for people living with or not living with HIV to access HIV services by having to face physical, architectural, informational, and attitudinal barriers. This July, we commit ourselves and encourage others to consider the accessibility of your services by using resources like A Seat at the Picnic through the link in our bio, or by checking out organizations like @realizeatwork

#DisabilityPrideMonth

ALT TEXT: Promotion for disability pride month. Top right corner includes disability pride flag. Text says, “Disability Pride Month. People living with disabilities can experience seen and unseen barriers to HIV prevention, treatment and care. Facilitate discussions about accessibility for HIV services,” with an arrow pointing to a picture of WHAI’s Seat at the Picnic resource.

Just your friendly PSA: PrEP is an effective HIV prevention tool that's safe to use even when you're taking HRT!

Wondering how to get on PrEP? Shoot us a message!

#PrEP #HIVPrevention #HRT #SaferSex

☀️ Keeping our neighbors safe in the extreme heat. 🌡️

As temperatures reach dangerous highs, our unhoused neighbors face severe health risks without reliable access to shade, water, and cooling supplies. We are actively distributing essentials to help them stay safe, healthy, and hydrated through this extreme weather.
Join us in providing essential resources during extreme heat. We have created an Amazon Wishlist with critical items that will ship directly to our team for immediate distribution.

👉 Copy and paste the link to shop our Amazon Wishlist and send relief directly to the streets: amazon.ca/wishlist/thrive

June 27 is National HIV Testing Day!

Other than through a blood draw from laboratories, HIV testing can now be done through self-testing kits that could either use blood from a finger prick or from an oral swab sample!

Access to HIV testing, like other STI tests, is still affected by stigma and health inequities. The self-test kits reduce some of the barriers to getting folks tested, but we need to do more to improve folks' understanding of HIV and what it means to live with HIV to get more people to feel comfortable knowing their status.

#hivtesting #hiv #safersex

On National Indigenous Peoples' Day, we want to show our full support of local Indigenous communities, who deserve equitable and culturally-appropriate health care access. Check out the recently launched "Starting Home Fires" campaign. #NationalIndigenousPeoplesDay

“Juneteenth was never about commemorating a delayed proclamation but about celebrating a people’s enduring spirit.”
Annette Gordon-Reed

Juneteenth is celebrated annually on June 19th to commemorate the end of slavery once the last group of people enslaved in the U.S. were informed of their freedom, nearly two years after the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed. Although Canada doesn’t officially observe Juneteenth on a federal level, many Canadians still celebrate it to acknowledge Canada’s own history of slavery and the persistence of anti-Black racism and white supremacy in our systems today. WHAI joins in the celebration of honouring Black communities for their resilience and leadership in rupturing anti-Black racism, which continues to persist in our communities and institutions, particularly as it relates to HIV-related risk and health outcomes. Without the contributions of ACB women and gender-diverse folks, WHAI’s work would not be possible. To learn more about how you can take an active part in dismantling anti-Black racism, check out resources from the African and Caribbean Council on HIV / AIDS in Ontario (@ACCHO) and WHAI’s Rupturing Anti-Black Racism facilitation guide at whai.ca/resources.

#Juneteenth
#FreedomDay

ALT TEXT: Black background with green, pink, and yellow text says, “Freedom Day: Juneteenth.” Features a quote from Annette Gordon-Reed and a green raised fist and yellow poppies.

Grand River Pride is bringing the party to the streets of Cambridge! Find us at the Cambridge Street Party on June 13, 1-8 PM to play fun games, get cool swag, learn about HIV and more, or even just to say hi in your fab pride outfits! #pride #grandriverpride #safersex

It’s not a party without music! Celebrate Pride 🌈 with our themed playlist!

The link is in the link tree on our bio!

See you there! We’re bringing fun activities, cool swag, and educational pieces on HIV, other STBBIs, and Harm Reduction!

#pride #tripride30 #tripride

Today we take a moment to recognize sex workers and the risks they face daily in their work. Sex workers deserve protection, not criminalization. #InternationalSexWorkersDay

True allyship goes beyond raising the pride flag!

We stand with Cambridge’s Queer Community and will be supporting the queer-organized flag-raising initiated by @grandriverpride!

See you there!

#Pride #CambridgePride #PrideFlag

Happy Pride Month! This June, Thrive HIV Prevention and Support and WHAI are joining the celebration as we uplift, honour, and spread love to 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. We celebrate the strength and resilience of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities who continue to fight for their rights and visibility amidst increasing homophobic and transphobic policies and violence around the world. We also want to acknowledge the leadership of 2SLGBTQIA+ communities in the HIV movement and the invaluable work they’ve done to fight for equity in access to HIV prevention, medication, care, and support. To join in this fight, we encourage allies to increase their awareness of 2SLGBTQIA+ issues, resources, and capacity to provide warm, inclusive, and gender-affirming care. To learn more, check out resources from organizations like the TWIRI @twiri_health_research, Rainbow Health @rainbowhealthontario, and Wisdom2Action @wisdom2action

Summer Festival Season is here! Thrive HIV Prevention and Support will be joining the festivities in the Guelph-Wellington region. Swipe to find out where THRIVE staff will be this summer - and come visit!

World Hunger Day is May 28th. According to Feed Ontario, from April 1, 2024 to March 31 2025, over one million people in Ontario accessed food banks. In WHAI’s Collective Action Community Change report, food insecurity has been identified by women and gender-diverse people living with / affected by HIV as a debilitating barrier when it comes to accessing HIV prevention, care and support. This World Hunger Day, WHAI wants to increase service providers’ awareness of the importance of food security to people living with and impacted by HIV, as well as expand and strengthen their referral pathways to include services that provide financial and employment support.

Thrive is hosting a Drag Bingo on May 24 from 12-3 PM!

Join us for a fun afternoon of BINGO, and be entertained by the charm and wit of @sashatease.xo!

Get 2 bingo cards for 5$ and 5 cards for 10$! There will be food sold at the event. Proceeds will go to THRIVE's Support Services! #KitchenerEvents #WaterlooEvents #CommunityEvents #DragBingo #Bingo

Thrive HIV Prevention and Support welcomes and affirms our 2SLGBTQIA+ community members today and everyday. #IDAHOBIT

We use harm reduction as a philosophy to support our communities. At Thrive, we only see our community as complete by ensuring that people with lived and living experiences are taking the lead in our outreach. Nothing For Us Without Us #Harmreduction #HIVprevention

May 5th is Red Dress Day, also known as National Day of Awareness and Remembrance for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people. The day was inspired by Métis artist Jaime Black’s REDress Project, where she hung red dresses to represent the missing and murdered Indigenous women who have been lost due to violence. The red dress has been a symbol since then to represent the ongoing violence against and lack of justice for missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, 2-Spirit and gender-diverse people.

In WHAI’s Landscape of Community Change resource, we’ve connected red poppies to the symbol of the red dress and to Call for Justice 15.1 from the Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, which calls for all Canadians to support others and to commit to being active in condemning hate and violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQIA people. We encourage others to utilize both of these resources to continue amplifying the voices of Indigenous communities and doing your part in advocating for the safety of and justice for Indigenous women, girls, 2-Spirit and gender-diverse people.

You can visit an informational display at the Guelph Thrive HIV Prevention and Support office today from 10am-5:30pm.

#MMIWG2S
#NoMoreStolenSisters
#RedDressDay

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At THRIVE, we work toward a future where new HIV, hepatitis C, and sexually-transmitted or blood-borne infections are rare in Waterloo Region & Guelph-Wellington County. People living with HIV will feel that maintaining health, well-being and full community participation are achievable, realistic goals.

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