International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and, political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. HIV Community Link unequivocally supports the advancement of women’s rights, challenges gendered stereotypes, and calls for an end to the discrimination, marginalization, and violence that women across the world continue to face. The campaign theme for International Women’s Day 2022 is #BreakTheBias. Whether deliberate or unconscious, bias makes it difficult for women to move ahead. Knowing that bias exis ..read more

International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and, political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. HIV Community Link unequivocally supports the advancement of women’s rights, challenges gendered stereotypes, and calls for an end to the discrimination, marginalization, and violence that women across the world continue to face. The campaign theme for International Women’s Day 2022 is #BreakTheBias. Whether deliberate or unconscious, bias makes it difficult for women to move ahead. Knowing that bias exis ..read more

In the final installment of our interview series for Black History Month 2022, we talked with spoken word artist Bethel Afework as they share two special pieces in commemoration of this month ..read more

Source: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation A U.S. patient with leukemia has become the first woman and the third person to date to be cured of HIV after receiving a stem cell transplant from a donor who was naturally resistant to the virus. Since receiving the cord blood to treat her acute myeloid leukemia — a cancer that starts in blood-forming cells in the bone marrow — the woman has been in remission and free of the virus for 14 months, without the need for potent HIV treatments known as antiretroviral therapy. Read the full article here: https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/woman-cured-hiv-s ..read more

For the second installment in our Black History Month artist series, our Drumbeat program interviewed Jya Noe, a spoken word artist and sociologist to talk about her journey through art and motherhood as a Black woman, as well as showcase her spoken word piece ..read more

 K The Chosen is a local Calgary artist who uses hip hop music as an avenue to share his stories and experiences. In this interview, K The Chosen speaks with our Drumbeat program about his new song, his connection to his home country of Zimbabwe, and what Black History Month means to him.   Listen to K The Chosen’s new song, “Dear African Fathers,” here: K The Chosen-Dear African Fathers ft. Soko Matemai ..read more

Black History Month, observed annually each February, is significant to the African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) community. It is a time to reflect on the legacy of black activists, celebrate their achievements, and commemorate those who came before and paved the way for all people of African descent that live in North America. It is important to remind people of the forerunners within the Black community who suffered immeasurably for human rights throughout generations past. Their contributions should be recognized, celebrated, and continue to be part of community conversation. Their work sho ..read more

With provincial restrictions changing, HIV Community Link is planning for our re-entry as an organization while continuing to be committed to protecting and supporting our clients, employees, and the public. We are constantly assessing how COVID-19 impacts our agency and clients and adapting our work based on the most up-to-date health authority recommendations. At this time, we have made the decision to continue to suspend most in-person training, volunteer activities, and group events and will  ..read more

Due to a change in Government funding for the South Zone, HIV Community Link is transitioning out of Lethbridge as of May 31, 2021. We are currently working to transition services over to Alberta Health Services (AHS) as they will be covering needle distribution and sexually transmitted and blood-borne infection (STBBI) service provision in Lethbridge moving forward. In the summer of last year, HIV Community Link was asked to provide support in Lethbridge due to the gap in services for people living with/at risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted and blood-borne diseases with the closure of ..read more

On behalf of HIV Community Link’s (HIVCL) Board of Directors, I am excited to announce the appointment of Katie Ayres as Executive Director, effective May 10, 2021. Katie has been with the agency in the roles of Director, Operations since July 2020 and Acting Executive Director since the beginning of this year. Katie is an innovative leader whose passion for the non-profit sector, leadership integrity, and strong pull towards advocacy and human rights-based work led her to HIV Community Link. Previously, Katie spent many years as an advocate for animal welfare issues, with a particular passio ..read more