When the AIDS epidemic hit Canada in the early 1980’s there were many gay associations and organizations already established. Nevertheless, many doctors in major Montreal hospitals recognized a lack of community support for the individuals contracting HIV/AIDS who were often discriminated against and abandoned by family and friends.
These doctors contacted Mr. David Cassidy at the CSSVM (Centre des services sociaux de Ville-Marie) to create a new organization for individuals with HIV/AIDS.
1983 Montreal AIDS Resource Committee/Association des Resources
Montréalaises
contre le Sida (MARC/ARMS)
• First community AIDS resource in Canada;
• Support was given to those individuals who were still ‘closeted’
and forced out by the definition of the disease;
• A main goal was to stop the panic forming within and outside of the gay community.
1983 Comité Sida Aide Montréal (CSAM)
• A group split and formed this organization feeling MARC/ARMS to be too gay oriented;
• CSAM was government-funded and had a triple mandate: Prevention/Intervention/Care;
• CSAM was originally intended to be a bilingual resource.
1987 AIDS Community Care Montreal/Sida bénévoles Montréal
• Several members of the English Services Committee at CSAM left to form
a new organization which would target the needs of the Anglophone community
living with HIV/AIDS;
• Members also felt CSAM focused too greatly on dying rather than living with HIV/AIDS;
• The following year MARC/ARMS and ACCM merged under the name ACCM
and was incorporated as a non-profit organization;
• The organization then obtained charitable status from Revenue Canada;
• Due to lack of funds people met in church basements and members’ homes;
• As response to the disease changed, people were not dying as fast. PHAs became more knowledgeable and support groups based on their needs were formed as well as the Buddy Program (one-on-one accompaniment);
• Changes in funding enabled ACCM to hire paid staff;
• ACCM joined the Canadian AIDS Society in 1992 and the Coalition des organismes communautaires québécois de lutte contre le Sida (COCQ-Sida) in 1994.
1994
• The J.R. Ranch, better known as “The Depot”, was located on Montcalm Street.
It was a garage where those who died could leave their belongings. Later this would become the J.R. Rainville centre, a drop-in space at a new location.
1995
• ACCM opened an office on St-Jacques;
• An Education and Prevention (basic outreach) and a Volunteer Department was formed with modest funding from Health Canada;
• In July, it was decided to close The Depot in favour of a drop-in centre so clients could continue to meet in a non-judgmental space;
• In November, ACCM’s office moved to Montcalm Street.
1996
• The drop-in centre and office moved to 1301 Sherbrooke East where the
City of Montreal was offering space to community groups;
• No funding was received at that time apart from $60 per month
from the Farha Foundation for food.
1997
• Funding was received from Glaxo-Wellcome Pharmaceuticals to build a kitchen in the drop-in centre, which was finally completed and launched in May 1999.
1998
• In July, ACCM’s office moved to 2075 Plessis;
• Funding was received to have a paid drop-in Director 2 days per week as well as a part-time Case Manager and Director of Social Services.
1999
• Volunteers at ACCM started the Buyer’s Club, a participant-run food cooperative, as well as a Community Garden;
• Funding was provided by Farha Foundation;
• ACCM received full four-year funding for Education & Prevention
for one full time employee;
• The Drop In began being funded on a regular basis through ACAP
(AIDS Community Action Program) Health Promotion budget and
continues to be the core funding of the centre today;
• ACCM received through COCQ-Sida the mandate for SMT
(Sida dans le milieu du travail) for the Island of Montreal, which provides training in the workplace to employers and employees.
2001
• With additional funding from Heritage Canada, the Education & Prevention
Department was able to hire an assistant;
• A paid position was created for fundraising;
• Director of Social Services became the Support Services Assistant
in order to better reflect the polyvalent role in client support services.
2002
• Project funding from Health Canada permitted the Safer Tattooing and Body Piercing project as well as Love, Sex and Disclosure (closed workshop series on sexuality, disclosure of status and prevention for HIV-positive people);
• With increasing demand from clients, ACCM re-launches support groups with
the model of closed, fixed-term groups. Two such groups are formed, joining the two existing ongoing open groups, one geared to gay men and the other
addressing spirituality issues.
2003
• ACCM continues to be involved in the greater HIV/AIDS movement, with
membership in the Canadian AIDS Society, COCQ-Sida, the Canadian
HIV/AIDS Legal Network, the Canadian AIDS Treatment Information
Exchange and the Canadian Treatment Action Council;
• ACCM marks the fifteenth anniversary of its incorporation (1 February 1988)
with a press conference and the launch of its new-look web site.
2005
• ACCM is recognized as a community leader in offering a strong series of workshops targeting at-risk-youth through partnerships with the English-Montréal School Board, cultural communities, youth centres and by offering capacity building sessions with youth-oriented organizations outside of the HIV/AIDS movement.
2006
• Treatment Buddies, a team of peers working to encourage adherence to HIV medication regimes by those beginning and/or changing treatments, is started. ACCM also creates a series of information sessions available to the general public in collaboration with CPAVIH. The sessions promote the demystification of the medical aspects of living with HIV and involve presentations by leaders in HIV research and treatment;
• Directions Montréal is launched. Programming aimed specifically at gay men promoting a global and holistic vision of health, that recognizes that there is more to being gay than avoiding HIV.
2008
• ACCM’s 20th Anniversary is marked in various ways, including a gala event at Altitude 737, the creation of Project Hope, an art auction to raise funds and increase ACCM’s public profile, and a documentary called “Turning 20″ which features interviews about the impact the organization has had on lives. The drop-in centre is renamed the J.R. Rainville Centre to honour one of ACCM’s founders;
• ACCM, La Portail VIH/SIDA du Québec and COCQ-SIDA create Info-Traitment in response to the closing of CPAVIH in order to ensure continuing access to information and support surrounding HIV treatment. This also results in the Treatment Buddies program being renamed Treatment Info; the program now focusing on one-on-one support and information as well as continuing to deliver information sessions;
• Recognizing that while people with HIV are living healthier and reintegrating with the larger society they are still faced with discrimination and intolerance, the Serophobia, POZ Friendly and POZ Army campaigns are launched to begin creating a community of people committed to supporting people affected by HIV and a willingness to publicly demonstrate this commitment;
• Latino Positivo, a client run group for Spanish-speaking people living with HIV, is started.
2009
• ACCM’s Vision and Mission Statements are revised to reflect the changing realities of HIV, our role in the movement and our place within Montréal’s community landscape;
• The Phénix Workshop Series was added to Directions Montréal programming. Partnerships with Maison Plein Coeur, COCQ-SIDA, UQAM, The Canadian AIDS Society (CAS) and The Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange (CATIE) are reinforced. This series of workshops was deployed across the country targeting HIV Negative Gay Men. The Montréal partners adapted and modified the workshops to speak to HIV Positive Gay Men. Results of the experience were forwarded to UQAM for final adaptations;
• We increase our presence on the Internet. A YouTube channel for ACCM is created to showcase videos produced by the organization. Facebook groups are created to promote our activities as well as to connect with our volunteer/stagiaire team.
2010
•The J.R. Rainville Centre is relocated to 2075 Plessis and increases its hours of operation in order to reinforce and build on synergies between the Client Support Services and Education & Prevention departments as well as to make our services easier to find, more accessible and increase client involvement in programming development and delivery;
• Buyer’s Club gets a new home. In conjunction with the relocation of the J.R. Rainville Centre, The Buyer’s Club moves to a space formerly used by the ACCM Garage Sale. Having its own dedicated space provides this 100% client run project with greater autonomy;
• Project Hope is renamed ARTS-SIDA in order to broaden its audience and reflect our strong connection to Montréal’s linguistic reality and diversity;
• Mr. Leather Montréal 2010, Ghislain Rousseau, selects ACCM as his charity of choice;
ATOMc, our first project funded by la Direction de Santé Publique de Montréal is launched. The project is designed to promote testing of HIV and other Sexually Transmitted Infections among Anglophone and Allophone Gay Men. An evaluation component is included and is being performed in collaboration with COCQ-SIDA and la Direction de Santé Publique de Montréal;
• Project 10 moves in. ACCM offers the LGBT youth organization access to the J.R. Rainville Centre Thursday evenings for their weekly Drop-in activities with a goal of reinforcing our relationship and collaboration with Queer Youth.
