Description of Need

While our office doors are closed and our annual fundraiser Splash of Red postponed, HIV Community Link is continuing to provide services in Calgary and Medicine Hat. In response to the COVID-19 situation, we are offering phone and online support, deliveries of food hampers and harm reduction supplies, and outreach. Currently, our most needed items are hygiene products, food, and clothing such as underwear and warm socks. Help us support vulnerable members in our community!

 

Our Story – Why We Exist

Our clients are our main focus and the reason we exist. Our volunteers are at the heart of our services. We partner with our community to develop a caring and compassionate society. 

Ann’s Story

Ann found out she was HIV positive in 2011. It took years to figure out what was wrong, because she wasn’t considered to be in a high risk group. A couple of months later, she came to HIV Community Link. “When I got here I was treated very well, there was no judgement, no stigma”, says Ann. Before living on the street, Ann had worked in an office for years. ”I was on the street from 2004 to 2008. I can understand now how it happens. It’s very easy. They say one paycheck away is what a lot of people are at right now from living on the street,” says Ann, who is happy she doesn’t have to be worried about her basic needs anymore. She adds that HIV Community Link helped her with her Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) and housing applications. But the most important part, she says, is “coming and meeting people, people that you didn’t have to be afraid to say you are HIV positive. I use the many services offered at HIV Community Link for people living with HIV including counselling, massage, acupuncture, food hampers, Friday lunches, laundry machines and attending conferences. This helps people to live with their condition and cope with it,” shares Ann, adding that it’s really important to educate health professionals so everybody gets tested, not just those who are considered to be at a greater risk. “HIV is everyone’s disease. Please help in the education, research, and prevention of HIV,” Ann concludes.

Read more stories of some of the people who make HIV Community Link possible and better every day.
 

Our Impact – What We Do

Our story is still being told. Founded in Calgary in 1983 by a group of concerned individuals who made it their mission to make sure that those living with and affected by HIV had their most basic human needs met. This included the need for food, support, connection and most of all –not dying alone.

HIV Community Link offers innovative programs tailored to meet the unique needs of individuals and communities. This past year, HIV Community Link has experienced a much higher and more diverse demand for our services than ever before.

Some highlights of our 2019-2020 programming:

• 1,046 registered clients, who we met with 12,129 times
• 2,274 basic needs supports provided
• 1,230 referrals to external community services and resources
• 170 events and activities for registered clients
• 1,012 outreach sessions
• 349 education sessions and workshops for service providers
• 13,459 outreach and education contacts
• 202,850 harm reduction supplies distributed
• 285,873 safer sex supplies distributed
• 132 overdose reversals reported
• 67 HIV/STI testing clinics with 331 contacts

 

Our Programs – How We Do It

HIV Community Link provides Support Services in Calgary and Southeastern Alberta, as well as Prevention and Education Programs. In Calgary, we offer:

• HIV SUPPORT SERVICES IN CALGARY: The HIV Community Link client services team has a comprehensive understanding of what it means to be living with or at risk for HIV.

Drop-In Centre: A safe space to use the computer, Internet, or phone, play cards & board games, read the paper & magazines and have coffee & snacks. Drop in is open Monday – Friday: 1 pm – 4 pm.
Supportive Counselling: Our support services team provides people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS practical support so they can live a better quality of life. Let us help you work through the stages of your HIV diagnosis. We provide counselling and support on a drop in basis, by appointment, on the phone or by outreach to individuals as well as other organizations such as hospitals.
Referrals and Advocacy: We provide connections to services such as addiction treatment, clothing, food, shelters, housing, employment, and more.
Outreach: Education and prevention services are provided in the community as needed. Contact us today for more information.
Drop-in services: Tuesday– Friday 9am to 12:30pm & 1:30 to 4pm

• HEAT (HIV Education and Awareness Today): This program delivers HIV/STI education, awareness and prevention to the gay men/MSM community by working with Safeworks to provide rapid HIV testing on site at locations such as the Sheldon Chumir and the local bathhouse. Contact [email protected] for more info.
• African Communities Program: This project works to address the stigma which is a major obstacle in the response to HIV in Calgary’s African communities to build an informed and compassionate response to HIV through education and outreach. Contact [email protected] for more info.
• Strong Voices (Indigenous Communities): A culturally integrated HIV support, prevention and awareness program led and delivered by and for Aboriginal people. Our goal is to reduce the harm associated with HIV and hepatitis C for all individuals and communities that we serve. Contact [email protected] for more info.
• Shift Calgary:  has a harm reduction and rights-based approach to sex work. We recognize that sex work is a choice for many, and respect the rights of adults to make this choice. We also recognize that for some, factors such as poverty or exploitation can put people into situations where they don’t have control Shift’s services will meet you where you are at – whether you want to continue sex work, safely exit, or anything in-between.
• Peer Program Our HIV Peer Support Program is tailored to the specific needs of the HIV community in Calgary. Currently, peer programs are being highlighted and leading the way in most promising best practices, client-centred trauma-informed care and finding a valuable place in the cascade of care for HIV and hepatitis C.
• Capacity Building
• Harm Reduction Supply Distribution

 

Our Requests – What You Can Do

DONATE: Donations are critical to HIV Community Link to primarily fund our education and prevention services, allowing us to take our safer sex and other prevention messages directly to the most vulnerable communities.

VOLUNTEER: Each hour you invest with HIV Community Link is a contribution to your community. Contact [email protected] for the newest volunteer opportunities.

HIV COMMUNITY LINK EVENTS: Check out our calendar of events including free educational workshops on HIV and subscribe to our newsletter

Other ways to support HIV Community Link:

• Hold a community event or fundraiser in support of HIV Community Link. For more info, go to our website