ACCM offers programming by and for people living with or affected by HIV/AIDS or hepatitis C and the chemsex community and therefore encourages them to apply for this position. We also encourage people who are queer, trans, Black, Indigenous, people of colour and/or living with a disability to apply, to represent the many communities that we serve and to ensure diverse perspectives and practices.

AIDS Community Care Montreal (ACCM) is looking for a PnP/Chemsex Support Coordinator to join our team! ACCM is Quebec’s only English-speaking community organization that offers prevention and support services to people living with or affected by HIV and/or hepatitis C. We work in collaboration alongside our many communities to build a compassionate and caring response to HIV and hepatitis C and carry out education work that equips people with the knowledge and skills needed to make informed decisions around their sexual health.

The goal of this position is to provide support to people who partake in chemsex/PnP, i.e. people who use drugs, such as crystal meth and GHB, in order to enhance and prolong their sexual experiences. This position is part of our KONTAK program which provides an array of services around chemsex, overdose prevention, and PnP from the framework of harm reduction. We offer support to the chemsex community through outreach, harm reduction material deliveries, workshops, support groups, one-on-one peer support and counselling for those using drugs for chemsex (PnP). Our ultimate goal is to equip pnp and the broader queer community with knowledge, competencies, support, and materials to proactively manage their drug use, reduce the risk of STBBI transmission, and prevent overdoses.

With the support of the Education for Prevention Department Manager and the current Chemsex Outreach Coordinator this role will have the following core responsibilities:

• Provide one-on one support and counselling to the chemsex community on an ongoing basis
• Develop and facilitate groups/a drop in program by-and-for the chemsex community and present on topics such as community, drug use, overdose, sex, relationships and/or partying ;
• Create and lead workshops to different communities and institutions that will include modules on chemsex, overdose prevention, safer drug and safer sex strategies all through the lens of harm reduction;
• Engage with community partners, clinics, and businesses to create meaningful relationships that support the chemsex community;
• Collaborate on the development of educational, peer-developed overdose prevention and STBBI prevention messages to be disseminated in French, English, and Spanish (printed & social media);
• Recruit, manage and train a team of volunteers to assist with groups and outreach;
• Support the Outreach Coordinator in conducting outreach to the communities that engage in chemsex to promote Kontak’s & Montreal’s chemsex services  provide a presence at saunas, sex parties, bars, clubs, and other gbMSM and/or PnP spaces

Additional responsibilities include: 

• Support new outreach strategies using various platforms including social media and hookup apps/websites ( Grindr, Scruff, BBRT, Squirt, Sniffies);
• Be available to support with harm reduction material management and distribution as needed

• Refer program participants to internal or external services in the community;
• Support Drop-in coverage at ACCM;
• Contribute to overall organizational well being by aiding in events, fundraisers, etc; 
• Attendance and participation in department, all-staff, and external committee meetings;
• Assist in SextEd coverage.
• Performs all other related tasks to the nature of the position

Our ideal candidate has all or a combination of the qualities and experience below:

• Has demonstrated experience in counselling and intervention; one-on-one support, groups support, and workshop facilitation. Experience in building the capacity of peer leaders is an asset.
• Has strong ties with Montreal’s PnP community and comfortable going to gbMSM sexualized spaces, including saunas, sex positive events, as well as the bars in the Village and city at large.
• Has the ability to self-motivate, work independently and work with a partner
• Available to work evenings or weekends to accommodate the schedule of groups and outreach 
• Has a strong commitment to harm reduction, anti-oppression, and utilizing strengths-based approaches, with a demonstrated history of applying harm reduction based interventions
• Lived, volunteer, or work experience with chemsex and substance use, and/or comfortable engaging with people who use substances.
• Has experience working with communities who are disproportionately affected by HIV, Hep C, and other STBBIs such as queer, trans, migrant, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Arab communities.
• Is knowledgeable about sexual health, HIV, hepatitis C, STBBIs, GIPA/MEPA approaches, and the social drivers of health.
• Works collaboratively with diverse groups of people and with our partner organizations.
• You believe in ACCM’s mission and values, our program approaches, and will act as an ambassador for ACCM.
• Volunteer or Team Coordinator experience an asset
• Experience with data collection would be considered an asset.
• Experience with social media, websites, and knowledge of online hook up apps would be an asset
• Fully fluent (written and spoken) in English, and bilingual in French would be a strong asset.

Specifications:

ACCM is open Monday to Thursday from 10:00 am-6:00 pm, however this position requires some evening and weekend availability. The pay rate for this position is $24 per hour at 32h per week, and includes 3 weeks of paid vacation in addition to two weeks between mid December and early January, 10 sick days per year, as well as a group health insurance plan.

How to apply?

Please submit a cover letter and CV to Verne Virostek (he/they) at e4p-manager@accmontreal.org with  “ChemSex/PnP Support Coordinator” in the subject line. Please also provide two references. We will review all applications, however only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. 

We are considering applications on an ongoing basis until the position is filled,  so we encourage you to apply early for full consideration!