About & Contact | HARS HIV/AIDS Regional Services

OPENING DOORS AND CHANGING LIVES SINCE 1988

WHO AND WHERE WE ARE

HIV/AIDS Regional Services, founded in 1988, is a non-profit AIDS Service Organization located in Kingston, Ontario. We provide education and support to individuals and organizations in Kingston and the surrounding region.

We are located north-west of Downtown Kingston at 844a Princess Street.

Live outside of Kingston? The good news is, we’ll come to you! Our catchment area is Belleville to the west, Brockville to the east, and Sharbot Lake to the north.

OUR MISSION

HIV/AIDS Regional Services provides comprehensive services including education, prevention, and support for people living with, at risk of, or affected by HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted bloodborne infections (STBBIs), in addition to advocating for broader social change to reduce stigma and discrimination.

OUR VISION

HIV/AIDS Regional Services is a leader in providing service user advocacy and innovative, high quality services for people living with, at risk of, or affected by HIV/AIDS.

HIV AIDS regional services office

Location & Hours

844a Princess Street
Kingston, ON K7L 1G5

Phone: (613) 545-3698

Open Monday to Friday: 9:00am–12:00pm, 1:00pm–5:00pm

Closed on Weekends & Holidays.

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Affirming Our Commitment

HIV/AIDS Regional Services (HARS) is striving to do better: To hear the voices of Lived and Living Experience and to better reflect the diversity of the communities we serve. As such, we are affirming our commitment to the following principles and to participating in the process of reconciliation.

GIPA/MIPA – Greater Involvement/Meaningful Engagement of People Living with HIV/AIDS

We acknowledge that Greater involvement of people with HIV/AIDS (GIPA) is never achieved once and for all; it is a goal and commitment that must be continually renewed. GIPA is a practice, not a project, and is similar to all other accountabilities of healthy HIV organizing and service delivery. Our practices in AIDS service organizations (ASOs) must be continually re-evaluated in light of the changing realities of HIV/AIDS and of those living with it.

(from OAN.red)

AR/AO – Anti Racism/Anti Oppression

Used as an umbrella term that includes activities, practices, policies, ways of thinking, and initiatives that address oppression in all its forms (e.g. racism, homophobia, classism, ableism). Key to anti-oppression is an understanding that inequality and oppression exist in the world, and that all of us participate in unequal power dynamics in a variety of ways. Anti-oppression involves reflection and making choices about how to give, share, wield, or withhold power to assist and act in solidarity with people who are marginalized.

(from ORGWISE.ca)

TRC – Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action

Each of us has a role to contribute to the process of reconciliation. Public dialogue and action on reconciliation must extend beyond addressing the history and legacy of the residential schools. If Canada is to thrive in the twenty-first century, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples must also thrive. This requires healthy communities and real economic and social change. National reconciliation involves building respectful relationships at the community level.

(from TRC.ca)

We invite our membership to affirm these principles and commit with us to doing this work. The Staff and Board look forward to providing a report card on our process in these areas at the 2019-2020 Annual General Meeting (AGM).

Staff Directory

Allison Cope

Position: City Support Coordinator

Amanda Rogers

Position: Harm Reduction Team Lead

Brad Dies

Position: M4M Sexual Health Coordinator

Chris Bachand Lauko

Position: Peer Support Worker

Derek Van Alstyne

Position: Regional Harm Reduction Outreach Worker

Diane Kearnan

Position: Volunteer Coordinator

Diane Smith-Merrill

Position: Prison Support Coordinator

Gilles Charette

Position: Executive Director