[Viva] Voices of +women closes

[Tami S.]

From:  <mailto:jhardy%40vopw.org> jhardy at vopw.org [mailto:
<mailto:jhardy%40vopw.org> jhardy at vopw.org] 
Sent: June 21, 2010 3:32 PM
Subject: Voices of Positive Women Announcement

Message to Community Partners 

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Voices of Positive Women I am
writing to notify you that effective today, June 21st 2010, Voices of
Positive Women will be closing. All staffing positions have been
terminated and all programs and services that were provided by VOPW have
ended. 

Many of you may recall that I wrote to you this past March to ask for
your assistance in 
participating in an independent Organizational Review. This Review was
requested by the AIDS Bureau, our largest and most important funder and
fully supported by the Board of Directors. 

The findings of that review were shared with our Board of Directors in
late May 2010 and we were advised by the AIDS Bureau that a decision had
been made to stop funding Voices of Positive Women effective August 31,
2010. 

Please know that this has not been an easy decision to make. Our Board
of Directors has spent many hours discussing the AIDS Bureau decision
and assessing the future viability of our organization without these
funds. In the end we concluded that our organization was not
sustainable. 

To assist clients with this transition in services the following
arrangements have been made: two staff persons from the Teresa Group
will be available to help with individual assessment and referrals to
appropriate service providers until the end of September 30, 2010. The
number to call is: 416-596-7703. Collect calls will be accepted from
individuals outside the GTA. Alternatively, clients can call the AIDS
Hotline at 1-800-267-7437 (English and 15 languages) or 1-800-267-7432
(French). Clients can also access www.ASO411.ca to locate the services
closest to the area in which they live. 

This is a difficult time for all of us; it is filled with sadness and
loss. As a woman that has accessed services from VOPW, I can understand
your personal sense of loss but also believe that this is the best
decision for our clients, our community and women with HIV. 

We will be planning a celebration of Voices of Positive Women's
accomplishments in the coming weeks. This organization has a proud and
significant history and it is important that we have an opportunity to
share our memories and stories together. We will be inviting clients,
community partners and other stakeholders and hope you will join us. 

You should also know that the AIDS Bureau has committed to protecting
the current level of funding provided to Voices for future programs and
services for HIV+ women. An advisory committee will be created to
undertake planning regarding this shortly. 

In closing, everyone at VOPW and the AIDS Bureau is saddened with this
news. . BUT, with the evolution of the advisory committee it is also a
time for hope and reflection. 

If you would like more information please do not hesitate to access our
website at www.vopw.org < <http://www.vopw.org> http://www.vopw.org> or
while the office
remains open 416-324-8703. 

On behalf of the Board of Directors, Voices of Positive Women, 

Yours truly, 

Khatundi Masinde 
President 

Jennifer Hardy
Administrative Assistant
Voices of Positive Women
416-324-8703, ext. 224 

 

 

All my relations

Tami M. Starlight

outsidethematrix at shaw.ca (works on windows live messenger)

My Facebook page

http://www.facebook.com/tami.cosmic

*new youtube page*

http://www.youtube.com/user/OutSideDeMatrix

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.resist.ca/pipermail/viva/attachments/20100622/fcadc747/attachment.html>