PrideHealth is looking for your help, and all you have to do is tell them where you like to drink.

The Capital District Health Authority (CDHA)’s public health unit, along with the provincial Department of Health and Wellness, are looking to launch an education campaign related to the ongoing syphilis outbreak among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Halifax.

The campaign’s main target will be online advertising, but posters in various drinking establishments are a key component of the campaign. That's where you come in.

PrideHealth is asking MSM to tell them their top five bars in Halifax. In fact, anywhere alcohol is served -- pubs, clubs, lounges and more.

"We want the campaign to reach as many guys as possible, so we want to know, 'Where do you and your friends go to socialize,'" says Kirk Furlotte, prideHealth's health-promotion intern. Furlotte mentions that they are looking for bars that may not be viewed as strictly gay or queer spaces, such as Menz & Mollyz, Reflections or Seadogs. "We’re already planning to go there," he says. He also points out that individuals who participate don’t need to list five bars. "Even one or two would be helpful."

As for privacy, Furlotte assures that your name and personal responses won't be shared and will be deleted once all the information has been gathered. He notes that not every bar that is suggested will be guaranteed to be a part of this campaign.

Send your results to kirk.furlotte@cdha.nshealth.ca with your top five bars. If you’d like to know the final results, mention that as well.

 

This edition of The Reading List is all about sexual health.

- If you haven't had the chance, check out Xtra's recent coverage on sexual health issues. Nancy Irwin wrote a great piece on the rise of syphilis amongst men who have sex with men.

Syphillis bacterium

- Andrea Houston reports on the rise of STI infections in large urban centres in Ontario.  

- Over at The Atlantic, Alice Dreger, a professor of clinical medical humanities and bioethics at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, looks at a recent report by the United Nations looking to repeal health practices such as "genital normalizing therapies" for individuals born with genitals that are sexually atypical. Read it.

- And if you're interested in healthcare practices and issues, prideHealth is holding a Trans* Community Forum next week. In partnership with the Canadian Professional Association for Transgender Health (CPATH), prideHealth is hosting a discussion on ways to expand access to healthcare for the trans community. The event happens March 6 in the Parker Reception Room at the IWK. For more information, contact prideHealth at 902-473-1433 or pridehealth@cdha.nshealth.ca.

The Nova Scotia Rainbow Action Project announced its list of community heroes this afternoon. 

First up is Karen Finnigan, who received the Reverend Darlene Young Community Hero Award. Finnigan is a social worker for the Cape Breton District Health Authority who has worked to create safer spaces for LGBTQ Cape Bretoners.

The second is Jesiah MacDonald, who received the Raymond Taavel Media Award. MacDonald became an accidental spokesperson for transgender rights when it was reported that he was being charged by MSI for a medically necessary hysterectomy, claiming that it was part of his transition process. MacDonald was quoted as saying, "Someone's got to talk about it because if I don't stand up and say this is what happened to me and this is why it was wrong, then what if it happens to somebody else?"

And last, but certainly not least, is prideHealth, the recipient of this year's Corporate Stewardship Award. A collaboration between Capital Health and the IWK, prideHealth has been doing a lot of work over the past year, from creating an It Gets Better video, to hosting discussions and forums and more. 

Kudos and congrats to all the winners!

 

Pride in Halifax isn't just a bunch of parties, although those are rather fun. It also includes public presentations, lectures and discussions about queer identity, past, present and future. Here are a few you may want to check out.

prideHealth is putting on a series of lectures and presentations during Halifax Pride Week. Cybelle Rieber, from prideHealth, believes that Pride is a perfect time to “provide opportunities for learning and discussion about the state of healthcare for our community and the needs of the community. It is important to both Capital Health and the IWK to engage with the Pride community in a number of ways, and these sessions are really about building capacity.”

The presentations include talks on such subjects as healthcare and queer women; the screening of a documentary called Gen Silent, about the issues that queer seniors face in long-term care; as well as a discussion of transgender issues and accessing healthcare. For more information, check out prideHealth's website.

NSRAP is also putting on its annual lecture series, called timeOUT. Topics range from the grassroots history of Pride in Halifax to the Canadian Charter of Rights And Freedoms' 30th anniversary.

"The lecture series is NSRAP's major contribution to the Pride events in Halifax,” says NSRAP’s Kevin Kindred. “We do it to make sure there's a good forum to learn more about the social and political issues of interest to the community -- we see Pride as a time for discussion and contemplation, as well as celebration. Every year we try to offer a variety, and this year is no exception. Our topics range from aboriginal issues, to healthcare, to the Charter, to the nature of Pride itself. We hope there's something there for everyone."

You can find out more by contacting NSRAP.

As previously reported in this space, prideHealth, an organization within Capital Health, Halifax's health authority, launched an It Gets Better video today, Friday, Jan 20, at noon.

The video is already up and running on YouTube. Check it out.

It’s been more than a year since Dan Savage created the first It Gets Better video in response to a rash of young people – many of them queer - who had taken their own lives. Since then, countless people, from celebrities to everyday people, have made their own videos, explaining, confessing, supporting and expressing their own stories, all in the name of providing support for queer youth.

Here in Halifax, prideHealth, a program for the rainbow community maintained by the Capital Health District Authority (CDHA) along with the IWK Children’s Hospital, is putting out its own It Gets Better video, which will launch this Friday.

The creation of the video was put into motion after Cybelle Rieber, coordinator of prideHealth, received an email from a staff member who wondered if CDHA could produce one. A call was sent out to staff and volunteers, along with a questionnaire, asking people about their own experiences, as well as for any advice they would like to share. “It’s really meaningful for people,” says Rieber. “It provides them a venue to reach out to young people and to share their story in a public venue where people are going to see it and hear it. And be proud of who we are.”

Since the inception of It Gets Better in 2010, some critics have stated that, in focusing on the future, the campaign doesn't address the current state of affairs for queer youth. For Rieber, it was important to approach this in the video. “One of the questions we ask people is, ‘What resources do you know are available in our community?’ so [the video will] talk about resources here in Nova Scotia, which I think is great.”

For Rieber, the message contained within the video is meant not only for queer youth, but for people of all ages. “It’s about talking to our peers, talking to the people we work with. We’re hoping to get people talking within the organization.” And talk is good and plentiful, according to her. “People are really passionate. They want this opportunity; they want to be able to talk about their stories. They know that it’s going to be shown within CDHA and IWK; they know that it’s gonna be online, on YouTube and on the It Gets Better website. They want to share their story; they want people to know that it gets better.”

One person who wanted to share her story is Maura Donovan. She works at the IWK as the coordinator of a support program for new parents. “I hope that young people in Nova Scotia will see all the adults who are from the same place as they are from and who are encouraging them not to give up and be proud of who they are,” she says. Donovan is not only one of the founders of Halifax’s Youth Project, an organization that works with queer youth, she is also a mother. “I can see that our culture is still very much training young children to believe that boys are a certain way and that girls are a certain way and anything else is not acceptable,” she points out. “And that is a huge piece of what happens with the bullying and the homophobia and the transphobia and the intolerance that starts to show itself in different ways in school. I think we need to make a commitment as adults, all of us, to make it better for young people now.”

December 15th - Edit: The event has been postponed until January. Stay tuned to Down East for more information when the new date is announced.