captain snowdon's blog

GAY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR
MEN’S WELLNESS PROGRAM

Title: Gay Community Development Coordinator, Men’s Wellness Program
Supervisor: Manager, Health Promotion and Community Development
Wage Rate: As per Collective Agreement
Category: Temporary Replacement for a period up to twelve months
Supervises: Project Volunteers
Hours: up to 37.5 per week (proposals for job shares & part-time options
Considered)

Closing date: 4:30pm, January 14, 2008

JOB SUMMARY

Under the direct supervision of the Manager of Health Promotion and Community Development, or designate, the Coordinator of the Gay Men’s Community Development Program develops and implements HIV prevention, health promotion and community development initiatives targeting gay and bisexual men, including youth, and other men who have sex with men.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITES

Queer Men In Action

Are you interested in finding out what is going on in Victoria and making more things happen for queers here?

Drop me a email captain.snowdon@avi.org as we are planning a get together soon.

WE want action oriented people....with vision and energy (no complainers please!)

Don't forget every Tuesday at Serious Coffee Join the Homos for our drop in social.
6-8 pm Blanshard and Fisgard, Victoria. Newcomers celebrated!

Embracing harm reduction could revitalize queer politics
ACTIVISM / Pipe dreams & real lives

Shawn Syms / Capital Xtra / Thursday, August 16, 2007

We all take drugs. And all drugs pose risks: from medications prescribed by your doctor to that Smirnoff Ice at last call. But if you ask most people to describe the stereotypical drug user, it's rare for anyone to hold up a mirror.

A middle-aged gay man who snorts the occasional line of coke at a party may think he has little in common with a homeless woman turning tricks and smoking crack in an alley just a block away.
Still, in the face of a conservative social and political tide, more people are realizing that when it comes to drug use and sex work, we need to reduce the harms associated with these activities instead of trying to curtail them.

Whether it's the ongoing fight in Ottawa to maintain a crack-pipe distribution program, or the constitutional challenge intended to decriminalize the sex trade, a harm-reduction approach rejects the idea that prohibition is a useful way to approach sexuality or drug use. And at a time when queer politics don't have a clear rallying point — but rather a scatter of issues both local and national vying for our attention — we have much to learn from the lessons of harm reduction.

Courtenay Queer Men's Chat and Chew

Don’t Forget 16 Aug 07 at 7:00PM (Thursday Evening)

Come and socialize at The Grotto at Union Street Grill (477 5th St.) Have dinner or just socialize and have a drink, this is a new location for the Chat and Chew and will be held the 3rd Thursday of every month

Sunset Kayak Cruize

9 Aug 07 (Thursday Evening) at 6:30 pm

Comox Valley Kayaks, 2020 Cliffe Ave,

Courtenay by the Airpark

Come out and enjoy an eco-paddling tour. No experience is necessary. There will be experience paddlers and also a certified instructor to give a group introductory basic lessons on route, so don’t let your lack of experience be your excuse. Not to mention come out and socialize with the gay community and meet new friends.

All this for only $15.00 per person it includes: your rental, paddles, PFD’s (Personal Flotation Device) and other Necessary Safety Gear.

We are going to meet at Comox Valley Kayaks at 2020 Cliffe Ave, Courtenay at 06:00 pm to get kayaks and gear so we can start paddling at 6:30 pm sharp.

What to Bring?

Water, Sunscreen, Camera, Appropriate shoes, suitable clothing and perhaps snack and liquid courage.

Book in advance with Comox Valley Kayaks

Call toll Free: 1 888 545-5595

Phone: (250) 334-2628

Come show your support and join Campbell River’s 1st Annual Walk Away from Homophobia Thursday, May 17. 5:30 – 7pm.

Starting 5:30 pm sharp at the Campbell River Community Centre’s side parking lot, the walk will move south down Shoppers Row over to the Foreshore Park. There will be guest speakers and entertainment for young and old. Dress up, dress down or come as you are.

Spread the news…

Men's Wellness Discussion Group

Recognizing that men's and women's health issues are unique has become a recognized fact in medicine in the recent past. With this in mind, and feeling at a bit of a loss sometimes in BC's health care system, a group of men in the Comox Valley began a Men's Wellness Discussion Group in January.

While many thoughts and ideas were brought forward at the first meetings of these self-directed sessions, the group has chosen to begin compiling a list of health care professionals between Parksville and Campbell River as its first project. A simple survey has been developed and will be sent to medical and health care professionals in the near future. Among other questions, health care providers are being asked if they are accepting new patients, if they have a specialty of any type and if they consider their practice to be gay friendly. Once the surveys are back, the information will be compiled on a database and will be available for anyone in the region who would like to access the list.

NEW MONTHLY GAY-BI CURIOUS CHEW AND CHAT

HOSTED BY MARTIN AND JOHN
AT APPETIT FOOD FOR THOUGHT
1ST AVE. LADYSMITH

MENU:
CEASAR SALAD
GRILLED MILD COCNUT CURRY CHICKEN
TEA OR COFFE
$10.00

COME OUT FOR A SUPER MEAL AND GREAT CONVERSATION

THIS EVENT WILL OCCUR ON THE FIRST WEDNESDAY OF EACH MONTH, IT IS ALSO A BYOB EVENT

"Almost One in 10 Straight Men on the ‘Down-Low,’ Study Finds"
Philadelphia Inquirer, (09.19.2006) Dawn Fallik
A 2003 random telephone survey sample of 4,193 male New York City residents found a high proportion of men self-identifying as heterosexual nevertheless also reporting sex with men. The study is a wake-up call for doctors not to make assumptions about their patients' sexual behavior, or rely upon self-reported identities, but rather to focus on behavior, said researchers.

The annual New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (MHH) survey found the majority of heterosexual-identifying men who have sex with men (MSM) did not use condoms, and 70 percent were married. Most heterosexual-identifying MSM were racial and ethnic minorities or foreign-born persons.

"We found that those who identified as straight but had sex with men were also less likely to be HIV tested within the last year and less likely to use a condom" than men who identified as gay, said Preeti Pathela, an MHH research scientist.