yourlanguage.hepcinfo.ca

One of the main barriers to ridding the world of hepatitis C is the lack of awareness and education. And one of the main barriers to widespread awareness, is language diversity.

This is where this resource comes in. yourlanguage.hepcinfo.ca is a resource page with different language options. The goal is to provide the same information in various languages.

The resource page is created and maintained by CATIE, Canada’s source for HIV and hepatitis C information. Following their commitment to providing HIV and HCV information to Canadians, CATIE recognizes the needs of a multicultural nation such as Canada.

The website has a very simple and easy to understand design. The language options are displayed on a banner at the very top of the page and a hyperlinked table of contents can be found on the left side for ease of access. Basically, as long as you can get to the website,  there is almost no reason for you to not get the information you need — if the language you speak is listed!

Currently, the website offers information in 12 languages — Arabic, Chinese (simplified), French, Spanish, English, Filipino (Tagalog), Bengali, Tamil, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, and Vietnamese.

This is a great resource for interested individuals, health care providers, and even educators. If you know anyone who needs to understand hepatitis C but has very limited knowledge of English, this might be the resource you’ve been waiting for.

yourlanguage.hepcinfo.ca displaying “What is Hepatitis C?” in Chinese (simplified).

VIDC at the PRIDE FESTIVAL 2015

It’s been a long time coming, but here it is — updates (and of course, PHOTOS) from PRIDE FESTIVAL 2015

As previously mentioned, VIDC is proud to have been part of this year’s PRIDE FESTIVAL. We’ve been in the community for so long, it was only a matter of time before this happened — and now is the time!

The VIDC Information Booth set-up — with flyers, pamphlets, booklets, wristbands, and a glimpse of what we had for breakfast that day!

PRIDE is a time to celebrate acceptance and to stand up against discrimination — and since HCV and HIV/AIDS do not discriminate, we wanted to be present at the festival to promote awareness about these diseases and the treatments available.

It was a very interesting and informative day for us as we got to see other organizations who support PRIDE, the initiatives they are involved with, and the health programs they have for the community.  It was a great reminder that although HIV and HCV are negatively affecting a lot of people, there are also a lot of people working together to help those affected.

Our research assistants Ghazal and Dr. Sahand Vafadary posing for a photo before the festival opened.

It was also very encouraging how receptive people were to the information. Festival goers were generally very inquisitive, and it was our great pleasure and delight to educate them about the diseases (HIV and HCV) and the treatments available.

One of our research coordinators, Nurse Candice Tan, handing out Hepatitis C Information Booklets and answering questions about testing and treatment options for Hepatitis C with a huge smile!

We focused mainly on providing information on Hepatitis C. Why? Because we feel like the awareness of HCV isn’t as widespread as HIV; also, at PRIDE, there were a number of organizations with information booths spreading awareness for HIV already. We tried to fill in the gap where we saw fit. Hepatitis C is a serious disease, and we want people to know that they should get tested and that treatments are available!

Here is our Communications Assistant, Ivan, and volunteer, Marianne, handing out condoms, booklets, and bookmarks while telling people to “Be safe and get tested!” (The people in the back were on their lunch breaks.)

The VIDC team had different shifts in staffing the booth. We wanted to make sure we got the chance to enjoy the festival while also ensuring that we always had a medical professional to address people’s questions and concerns. We had all three of our nurses, a couple of our research coordinators, assistants, and volunteers present on-site at various times of the day — all ready and equipped to spread the good word that HCV is now curable and people should get tested.

Research Assistant, Riley, and our HCV Nurse, Yashna rocking the VIDC shirts — they’re one of the blessed ones who can make those shirts work!

We clearly had a lot of fun at! And we look forward to being a part of the PRIDE FESTIVAL again next year. Who knows, maybe we’ll have a float for the PARADE too!

Our volunteer, Marianne, embodying our main message for the day by giving out HCV information AND condoms — Be safe! Get Tested! (Yes, that’s Nurse Shawn Sharma in the background.)

Community Spotlight: Tyler Cuddahy

This month’s community spotlight is a little bit different, it’s not just an introduction about a dear friend of VIDC, it’s also a call to action. Yes, this month’s community spotlight is for YOU to join and take part in the goodwork that our friend is doing!

2015 marks the 30th year for the AIDS WALK FOR LIFE,  and the spotlight is directed at Tyler Cuddahy. He’s a dear friend of VIDC and we want to get the word out there about the work he’s involved in! He came to our office informing us of his walk, and our President and Medical Director, Dr. Brian Conway, jumped at the chance to support him financially — and to make sure that we spread the word to get more supporters!

On September 20, 2015, Tyler will be walking 6.75KM along the seawall with a bunch of other people with the aim of walking for:

strength, for health, and for LIFE.

BUT

Tyler won’t just be walking, he will be walking in 8-inch heels. Yes, EIGHT! You can do a quick search on Google Images to see what those will look like! (Take it from people who have walked a mile in 2 to 4-inch heels, EIGHT INCHES IS QUITE THE CHALLENGE!!!)

Now, here’s the part where YOU come in.

Tyler won’t just be walking for the sake of looking glamorous in his EIGHT-INCH HEELS; he’s walking to raise funds for the walk. The funds will go to Positive Living BC’s Community Health Fund.

Here are two things YOU can do:

1. Support Tyler’s walk financially! You can take part in his journey (again, in EIGHT-INCH HEELS) by supporting it financially. Click here for his donation page. 

or

2. You can register to walk too! Don’t worry, you can walk in normal shoes if that’s more your style. Click here if you want to register and do the walk too! You can walk alone or in a team.

Here’s an excerpt from the AIDS WALK FOR LIFE website. Click on the photo to find out more, or visit walk30.ca

It’s because of people like Tyler who participate in initiatives and events like these that help bring awareness that HIV is still a problem that needs to be addressed. And it will be because of people like YOU that he — and others — can keep doing so.

As a medical and research clinic with a strong commitment to a community-based holistic approach in providing health care, we proudly support individuals like Tyler and his efforts!

GO TYLER!

VIDC on MyDavieVillage.com

We are proud to announce that the Vancouver Infectious Diseases Centre (VIDC) is now affiliated with the MyDavieVillage.com online directory.

MyDavieVillage.com is website that seeks to

provide a resource base for Vancouver’s gay community and GLBT visitors to Vancouver …  a virtual Davie Village to complement our traditional West End “gaybourhood” and make it easier for all of Vancouver’s GLBT gay community to be engaged with our community.

As a medical and research clinic that emphasizes the need for a community-based holistic approach in providing care, we strongly support initiatives like MyDavieVillage that endeavors to bring the community together.

This is especially significant as the GLBT Community that MyDavieVillage.com seeks to bring together, is one of the communities at a higher risk for HCV and HIV. Being visibly accessible to the community through this directory means VIDC can reach a wider audience in raising awareness and providing care.

Here are some screenshots from their website:

Medical Resources landing page

Short blurb about VIDC on the desktop version of the website.

The website is also mobile friendly, making it easy to access the resources while on the go.

MyDavieVillage.com mobile website screenshot

Medical Resources landing page (with VIDC blurb) on the mobile-friendly webpage.