2023-08-11 16:28:51
There’s something new in the Village and it’s already getting people talking… No, it’s not a new shop or restaurant. Even less a sex shop. It’s a “Pink Zone”! You can’t miss it, a cute container dressed in bright colors with a giant, almost two-story-tall “pink cone” on the roof! You will ask me: but what is it then? It’s simple, it’s the latest project from the RÉZO organization team to encourage GBQ (gay, bisexual and queer) men to get tested for HIV and other STBBIs.
Until October 1, you can go for tests for these diseases, but also to discuss, to exchange with the speakers of RÉZO.
This is a collaboration with several partners, including medical clinics. It also offers vaccination once morest monkeypox (Mpox). When was your last screening session? Maybe a little trip to the Pink Zone is in order?
In front of 1364 rue Sainte-Catherine Est, not far from rue Panet, we have set up “an area for intervention, discussion without prejudice and free HIV / STBBI testing without an appointment”, as mentioned in the press release. . Screening and prevention for HIV and other STBBIs (sex and blood-borne infections) such as gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis and HPV because the numbers don’t lie, GBQ men still make up the majority of cases identified. In 2021, GBQ men accounted for around 60% of new HIV cases, with a majority in the Montreal area, according to the INSPQ (Institut national de santé publique du Québec). GBQ men are also 98% infected with monkeypox (Mpox). “There are no statistics, but we know that GBQ men are affected by other STBBIs (like gonorrhea, chlamydia, etc.). So getting tested and then getting treated is important here […]», Explains Alexandre Dumont Blais, general manager of RÉZO.
Inside this shimmering air-conditioned container, it will be possible to get tested thanks to the nurses of RÉZO’s partners, which include the L’Actuel medical clinic, the Latin Quarter urban medical clinic, the La Licorne clinic and the SIDEP+ clinic of the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal. We will also be able to discuss and exchange views with RÉZO stakeholders in addition to receiving vaccinations for monkeypox/Mpox, HPV as well as hepatitis A and B. As of last year, a collaboration between RÉZO and the CIUSSS ensured that monkeypox vaccination clinics had been established near the Village. Nearly 26,000 1st doses and 11,000 2nd doses of the Mpox vaccine were thus administered in Montreal.
It is therefore something different that has come to be added to this summer pedestrianization. “But in reality it’s not that different,” said Alexandre Dumont Blais. We have been present in the Village for 30 years and we have had a kiosk every summer for fifteen years to do intervention and awareness, so we continue to do what RÉZO has always done, but this time we do screening in a more comfortable, pleasant and air-conditioned environment […].»
But we will not hide it, installing a container in this way on the public highway represents many pitfalls in terms of organization, regulations, etc. “We had the collaboration of the Société de développement commercial (SDC) du Village, Pride Montreal, among others, we saw that people were supporting us and that gave us the energy to continue. We felt that everyone wanted it to work […]», stresses Alexandre Dumont Blais. This is a project that was thought of only three months ago, but which has gone through many stages. “We had support from several partners to get there more quickly and get through the rules of the City,” he adds. There was, among others, the Upperkut agency which provided the artistic packaging of the container and with which RÉZO had set up several campaigns.
In addition, in the evening when it is dark and everything is lit, it offers an unparalleled appearance.
Merck Pharmaceuticals Canada, Viiv Health Care and Gilead Sciences Canada lent their hand to financially support this RÉZO initiative, as did the National Bank of Canada.
“What’s interesting is that even tourists stop, we’ve seen it, they tell us ‘it’s so nice, it’s so cool’, it’s very encouraging and it proves that there is a need for this type of service,” says Alexandre Dumont Blais.
“The enthusiasm of the partners is inspiring […], this bodes well for the future, he adds. We know that a direct screening service in the street will reach many people who, for many reasons, have not been able to get tested. So, can we do it six months a year, can we bring forward the installation date of the container as soon as pedestrianization begins, there are several questions that arise, but the partner support here is interesting because we know that the project can evolve, that it has the wind in its sails. […]»
“My teams and I proudly support the Zone Rose de RÉZO. It is an inspiring initiative that fits directly into a vision of reappropriation of public health issues by communities. It is a model to follow and reproduce!”, declared in a press release Dr. Mylène Drouin, the regional director of public health in Montreal and who made herself known for her expertise during the numerous interventions in the media during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We are already very confident that it will work! Already from the first days when we installed the container, we saw that people were very curious, they stopped, they wanted to know what it was and welcomed the fact that it was HIV and STBBI testing. This seems very promising to us for next year…”, indicates the general manager of RÉZO, Alexandre Dumont Blais.
Schedule of the Pink Zone of RÉZO : Until October 1st, Wednesday to Sunday, from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., and screenings from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., depending on the availability of our clinical partners.
All info here: https://www.rezosante.org/zone-rose/
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