Battling AIDS in Ottawa — and Beyond
ACOXXX — Our Words, Our Stories, Our Lives,a
June 5, 1981 The United States reports that five young, previously healthy gay men in Los Angeles are diagnosed as having a rare lung infection, as well as suffering from a number of other infections indicating immunesystem failure. Within days, doctors from across the U.S. flood the Centers for Disease Control with reports of similar cases. These cases represent the first diagnoses of what then is called Gay-Related Immune Deficiency.
PREVENTION POWER HIV/AIDS — past and present.
“There’s so much doom and gloom surrounding HIV/AIDS. Instead, we want the project to celebrate the people who’ve passed on, survived, and thrived over the course of 30 years,” says Salam. “In the beginning, we had nothing. And here we are today,” he adds, gesturing to ACO’s new, much larger home on Main Street — a space that has room for a community kitchen, laundry, offices, a recreational area, a needle exchange, therapeutic chairs, a massage table — even a patio and gardening space.
This new facility represents the future of ACO and gives it the ability to better help its clients, especially gay/bisexual men, who continue to make up more than 50 percent of those infected, as well as African, Caribbean, African-American, and Indigenous peoples, drug users, and women at risk.
Here, a look back at the struggle with HIV/AIDS — the wins and losses, both locally and internationally. 1983 The first Canadian dies from AIDS; AIDS Vancouver, the first AIDS organization in Canada, is founded, as is a national task force to study the disease. October 1983 A walk from Toronto to Montreal is held to raise funds for AIDS. It represents the first of many future AIDS walks. 1985 At a conference in Montreal, health experts meet to discuss the creation of the Canadian AIDS Society. Canadian Red Cross confirms AIDS has been found in blood banks and announces plans to start testing for HIV — this comes after denials the previous year linking AIDS with their blood products. July 9, 1985 Barry Deeprose proposes the establishment of an AIDS Committee of Ottawa as a subcommittee of Pink Triangle Services (PTS) to raise awareness and provide services. PTS board member Bob Read supports Deeprose.
By Matt Harrison
BARRY’S BUDDIES October 2, 1985 Households around North America are shaken by the news that actor Rock Hudson has died from AIDS. 1986 People with HIV/AIDS are protected against discrimination under the Ontario Human Rights Code. Toronto becomes the first city in Canada to develop an AIDS strategy that includes funding for community-based organizations.