Casey House

🌟❄️🎄Happy Holidays from Casey House! 🎄❄️🌟 Oh what fun have we been having here before the holidays. Staff gathered last Friday for our annual staff party, and yesterday we hosted our peers and advisory committee members in a festive celebration. Our house is not a home without the amazing people inside of it, so it's lovely to take a moment and show our gratitude to the people who make it all happen 🏠💖 With the year's end in sight, we'll be winding down online. Our outpatient services will also be closed on December 25th, 26th, and January 1st. In the meantime, we hope you all enjoy a restful and warm holiday season ❤☃

The calendar year is almost over, but our impact report for the 2023-2024 fiscal year has just gone live! Here are a couple of accomplishments that we are proud to have achieved with our incredible team: 🍽️20,996 hot midday lunches served to our clients ❤️🩹62394 harm reduction kits and 445 naloxone kits provided to the community 🫂540 average number of clients accessing our outpatient services each quarter 🏩129 inpatient admissions 🫶3776 hours of peer support …but that’s just the start of it! Read our full impact report online here https://lnkd.in/g7vcZJpr We couldn’t have achieved this without the generous support of our staff, volunteers, peers, donors, sponsors, and supporters. Thanks so much for another year of care and compassion for people living with and at risk of HIV.

🎉 Save the Date: David’s Disco Returns March 28, 2025! ✨ We’re thrilled to announce that David’s Disco is back for its second year! Mark your calendars for March 28th and get ready to shine at an unforgettable night of glamour, music, and giving. This isn't just any party — every move you make helps raise vital funds for Casey House, providing compassionate care for people living with and at risk of HIV. 🎟️Tickets go live in January, but you don’t have to wait! Secure your spot early by exploring sponsorship opportunities. There are many ways to be part of this exciting night! Every move you make will have a meaningful impact. Join us in making a difference! Visit davidsdisco.ca for details on how to get involved. Stay connected with us on Instagram @caseyhouseto and follow Casey House on LinkedIn as we count down to the big night. #DavidsDisco2025 #CaseyHouse #SupportAndCelebrate #HIVCare #CharityEvent #DiscoForACause #SponsorshipOpportunities #GrooveForGood #DiscoForDavid #ShineOnDavid

December 1 – 7 is Indigenous AIDS Awareness week. While we applaud the community-based approaches and leadership of Indigenous people in providing supportive holistic care, Indigenous people continually encounter systemic barriers to dignified and culturally affirming health care. That’s why Casey House continues to work closely with the Indigenous community, including our advisory group, to continue developing fulsome accessible health care pathways. Whether it’s navigating the institutional health care system or developing harm reduction models of care, we honour the lived experiences of Indigenous peoples living with and at risk of HIV this week. We invite folks to read about the 2023 Casey Award recipient tribute to the late Elder Wanda Whitebird to learn more about incredible Indigenous-led social justice for the HIV/AIDS community. https://lnkd.in/g9Arn97b #IndigenousAIDSAwarenessWeek #IndigenousAIDSAwarenessWeek2024 #IAAW #IAAW2024 #HIV #AIDS #WorldAIDSDay #WAD #WAD2024 #UequalsU

This week holds special significance for Casey House and the communities we serve. World AIDS Day (December 1) and GivingTuesday (December 3) align to create a powerful moment for awareness and change. Through our Healing Hugs campaign, your generous donations will help provide much-needed items to Casey House's care and comfort fund.   What does a Healing Hug look like? It could be: ·      Warm winter boots and a coat for someone living without shelter ·      Groceries for someone returning home after a long hospital stay ·      A cell phone to help someone stay connected to care and loved ones ·      Transportation to medical appointments ·      A pair of prescription glasses or orthotics   These are items many of us take for granted but offer comfort during critical times of need for our inpatient and outpatient clients. Thanks to an incredible matching opportunity, every donation to our care and comfort fund made GivingTuesday will be matched up to $10,000. This means your support will go twice as far, helping us to provide even more critical support for our clients’ health and well-being. HIV is here, but so are the healing hugs of Casey House. Together, we can ensure people continue to have access to the compassionate care we provide every day of the year. Donate here: https://lnkd.in/ed2sbz-f #GivingTuesday #HealingHugs #CaseyHouse

📢 World AIDS Day takes place each year on December 1st, and we encourage others to take a moment to reflect on the barriers that still exist in HIV care, prevention and treatment. HIV is still here. As long as HIV continues to impact our communities, Casey House will be here to support people living with and at risk of HIV.     Everyone deserves quality health care that is accessible and compassionate. Casey House commemorates the lives of each client who passes away through memorial quilts designed and sewn by volunteers. These quilts, woven together from different textiles are unique pieces of the larger story. Each quilt square is a testament to a life lived and loved, carefully created with dignity and respect. The quilts serve as a poignant reminder that those lost to HIV are not forgotten and that HIV is woven into the fabric of our communities 🪡   Much like the components that make up a quilt, HIV care has many intersecting factors that reach beyond a person’s viral load. There are nuanced dimensions of HIV that make the experience unique for each person, some of which you can see illustrated in this graphic.    In honour of World AIDS Day, here are some ways you can participate: 🔴       Wear a red ribbon 🔴       Do your research 🔴       Strive to be HIV stigma-free and stand up to stigma in your community 🔴       Volunteer at Casey House 🔴       Donate    You can also read our full World AIDS Day blog post on our website here: https://lnkd.in/ewW3EK7W   #WorldAIDSDay #WorldAIDSDay2024 #WAD #HIV #healthcare #HIVstillhere #UequalsU #myredribbon #smashstigma

Casey House is incredibly proud to announce our very own physiotherapist, Carolann Murray, as the recipient of the Elisse Zack Award for Excellence in HIV and Rehabilitation. This annual award is bestowed onto individuals or organizations that represent the values and goals of ‘Realize / Réalise’, which champions exceptional performance in the field of HIV rehabilitation and outstanding care towards improving the lives of people living with HIV. Carolann was nominated by several of her peers: Kelly O’Brien, Francisco Ibanez-Carrasco and Soo Chan Carusone. With over 30 years of experience, she is currently the only known physiotherapist in Canada specializing specifically in HIV care. We were grateful to have her join our clinical team in 2018 and since then, she has demonstrated exemplary innovation and compassion. Carolann has seen over 250 clients living with HIV, runs weekly recurring client exercise groups, and provides one-on-one client care, all while mentoring health care students and new graduates. Additionally, Carolann supports transitioning Casey House clients to local community services so they can continue to receive care even after they leave our facilities. Lastly, we are inspired by how Carolann does it all with a positive attitude day after day. No matter the challenge, she truly is dedicated and persistent to delivering the best care she can to our clients. Heartfelt congratulations once again to Carolann, and if you happen to see her, please be sure to send her some cheer for her achievement.    

We are excited to share insights from Casey House inpatient social worker Liz Creal, who recently spoke to Dying With Dignity Canada about our commitment to compassionate, judgment-free, and socially-just health care.   As leaders in advancing HIV health care, we recognize the evolving needs of our clients and are proud to offer new services that address these complexities. HIV continues to be diagnosed, particularly in communities affected by social and structural determinants of health. It is crucial that we continue to advocate for and support accessible care for all.   Learn more about our programs and services here: https://lnkd.in/e72ytDhq     #HIVHealthCare #CompassionateCare #SocialJustice #CaseyHouse

Happy Halloween and Diwali from Casey House! 🎇 🕯️ 🎃 🕷️🕸️ We had a blast today with our staff and yummy contributions to our potluck lunch. Check out some of our amazing costumes, including the three winners of our costume contest: an IT “fishing” scam 🎣, a Diwali Mad Hatter 🎩, and in first place, Demi Moore from ‘Ghost’ 👻. Our directors and senior leadership also banded together as the cast of emotions from ‘Inside Out 2’ 🎭! It’s always so fun to be able to come together across departments and kick back together. So whether you’re lighting your diyas or jack-o-lanterns tonight, we hope you all have a fantastic evening of fun! 🕯️

A heartfelt congratulations to our dear friends Andrew Kushnir and Nick Green for winning Heritage Toronto’s Public History Award with ‘Casey and Diana’! 🎭🎉 ‘Casey and Diana’ is a stage play that depicts a fictional retelling of Princess Diana’s real-life visit to Casey House in 1991. It is an honour to have a piece of Casey House lore nominated alongside other incredible community projects, even some created by our friends whom we know and love. This award comes at a fitting time as well, following the recent anniversary of Diana’s visit last Friday. More than 30 years later, seeing this depiction on stage has been a surreal experience. We are continually grateful to have such talented artists sharing Casey House’s message of hope, love, and dignity across the country even after all these years 💞 Thank you again to Andrew and Nick for leading this project with such authenticity, and for championing the story of a little house full of love 🏠 #HTAwards2024