MAX Ottawa Joins the Ontario AIDS Network

November 18, 2024

MAX Ottawa takes an important step in its work on HIV by becoming a member of the Ontario AIDS Network (OAN). For over 20 years, the OAN has supported community organizations that are doing the life-saving work of HIV prevention, testing, treatment, and community-building. 

Since its creation in 2002 as the Ottawa Gay Men’s Wellness Initiative (OGMWI), our organization has been working to support community members impacted by HIV through information and education, supportive programming, and service delivery. Though we changed our name to MAX in 2017, the commitment to meeting community members where they’re at, with services and programs that improve their health and wellbeing, has been consistent. 

We have done this work alongside local partners like the AIDS Committee of Ottawa, Bruce House, Centretown Community Health Centre, Somerset West Community Health Centre, The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, and Ottawa Public Health. The move to join the OAN marks a step towards broader collaboration with partners across Ontario, ensuring deeper relationships with those working with and for queer men and trans and non-binary people who are impacted by HIV and AIDS. In addition to our work with provincial organizations like the Gay Men’s Sexual Health Alliance (GMSH) and the Ontario HIV Treatment Network (OHTN), being connected to the OAN will help ensure our ongoing commitment to the work of the HIV response. 

Central to the OAN are the following principles: the Greater Involvement and Meaningful Engagement of People with HIV/AIDS (GIPA/MEPA); Anti-Racism, Anti-Oppression and Anti-Stigma; and Harm Reduction. These values are equally central to the work at MAX, and we are committed to the ongoing work of ensuring meaningful engagement of those living with and affected by HIV in the National Capital Region. 

MAX’s application to join the OAN was approved at the organization’s Annual General Meeting in Toronto on November 8, 2024.