Sense Project

Head & Hands is hosting a rapid HIV testing clinic on Thursday, March 31st, 2011, between 5-8pm.

This free service is available for youth aged 12 to 25. Limited spaces are available; the clinic is first-come, first-served.

Rapid testing allows people to get results in a matter of minutes, in contrast to conventional HIV testing which typically involves a two-to-three week delay before getting results. This delay can cause a lot of anxiety and in many cases act as a significant barrier to getting tested. In fact, 76% of people who received rapid-HIV testing at Head & Hands on World AIDS Day listed “less anxiety” as the reason they prefer rapid-testing to regular testing. Head & Hands uses INSTI™ HIV-1/HIV-2* Antibody Test, which provides the same accuracy in results as standard HIV testing (99.96%).

This is the second time that a rapid HIV testing clinic is being offered at Head & Hands. It is a new project that has been developed with the support of the Farha Foundation. The first clinic was offered on World AIDS Day and was very successful: 92% of youth who were tested said that they preferred rapid HIV testing to regular testing, and 100% said they would get rapid testing done again.

In keeping with Head & Hands mission, this clinic aims to provide services that empower youth to make healthy life choices. By offering this confidential, free and rapid HIV testing night, we aim to facilitate Montreal youths access to HIV testing and to do so in a holistic and harm reductive manner. Counseling will be available on site.

Here’s the Facebook event, if you’re interested!

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À deux mains offrira pour la deuxième fois sa clinique de dépistage rapide du VIH, jeudi le 31 mars, 2011, entre 17h et 20h.

Le service sera offert gratuitement pour les jeunes âgés entre 12 et 25 ans. Nombre de places limitées.

Le dépistage rapide permet d’obtenir les résultats en approximativement 10 minutes, alors que les tests de dépistage conventionnels impliquent une attente de 2 semaines entre la réalisation du test et la réception des résultats. Ce délai peut causer beaucoup d’anxiété et, dans plusieurs cas, une barrière à la décision de se faire tester. Comme le dépistage rapide élimine la période d’attente, il peut encourager les gens qui, autrement, ne se feraient pas tester. À deux mains utilise le test d’anticorps INSTI™ HIV-1/HIV-2* qui fournit la même exactitude dans ses résultats que le test de dépistage du VIH standard (99.96%).

C’est la deuxième fois qu’une clinique de dépistage rapide du VIH est offerte chez A deux mains. Il s’agit d’un nouveau projet qui a été développé avec le soutien de la Fondation Farha. La première clinique a été offerte la journée mondiale de lutte contre le SIDA et a été un succès. Vingt-sept jeunes ont été testés ce soir-là, 88% ont dit qu’ils reviendraient.

Conformément à la mission de À deux mains, cette clinique vise à fournir des services qui encouragent la jeunesse à faire des choix de mode de vie sains. En offrant cette soirée de dépistage du VIH confidentielle, gratuite et rapide, nous visons à faciliter l’accès des jeunes de Montréal au dépistage du VIH avec une approche holistique et de réduction des risques. Des interventions seront disponibles sur place.

Voici l’événement Facebook, si cela vous intéresse !

Do you like doing crafts or making videos? Do you want to support World AIDS Day and Head & Hands? Do you want to drink hot chocolate and have fun talking about safer sex with other rad crafters?

Then come join us at our Crafternoon on Monday, November 29!

Who: You and your buds!What: Making crafts (buttons, patches, etc) and a short video* to promote safer sex and getting tested for HIV– just in time for World AIDS Day!
When: Monday, November 29 from 4-6pm
Where: Head & Hands (5833 Sherbrooke Street West)
Why: To have fun, to get involved at Head & Hands, and to spread the word about the importance of safer sex and the FREE RAPID HIV TESTING NIGHT** on December 1^st.

Bring friends, bring craft materials, bring creative energy for filming, and bring the fun! (though we will have all of the above on hand, too!)

As one of the stages of HIV, the Asymptomatic Period refers to the time between becoming infected with HIV and being able to tell that you’re HIV positive with a test. TRUE or FALSE?

FALSE

The Asymptomatic Period is when people who are HIV positive may look and feel perfectly healthy for a long time (up to 15 years or more), especially if they already have a healthy lifestyle. Even though the virus is breaking down their immune system, they don’t feel it. But remember, during this period, they can still transmit the virus!

The time between becoming infected with HIV and being able to tell that you’re HIV positive with a test is called the Window Period. It is between three weeks and six months but if you’ve had unprotected sex or done something else that’s risky, you have to wait three months to get tested to be sure the test is accurate. This means you can’t do any more high-risk stuff during that time or the test is no good! To know for sure whether you’re HIV+ or not, be especially careful to stay away from at-risk activities until your test results are in.

Also, the three months following infection are those when the virus is at its most contagious. And, while one’s use of antiretroviral drugs can help control the HIV virus in the bloodstream, levels of contagion can continue to spike throughout one’s life. That being said, HIV can be transmitted at ALL times. So, be aware and be safe!