Welcome to Positive Outlook, the Blog

(version française)

For many years, AIDS Community Care Montreal / Sida bénévoles Montréal (ACCM) has been publishing a monthly newsletter for its members and partners in the community. This newsletter, renamed Positive Outlook a few years ago, gave information about the organization's activities, both past and upcoming, and took the time to explore other issues of interest in the world of HIV/AIDS. We have worked to ensure that more and more people opt for the electronic version of the newsletter and we have reached the point at which about half of our subscribers receive Positive Outlook via an e-mail link to the PDF version on our web site.

This year, our most recent funder of this publication decided to discontinue its funding. In fact, they have reduced funding to a large number of programs they used to fund in recent years, so we knew that we needed to explore an alternative to our traditional newsletter. More than a cost-saving measure, we hope that this new approach will provide exciting new opportunities for the involvement of our members and readers, an outlet for a timely distribution of information to interested parties and a chance for Positive Outlook to become much more interactive through comments and contributions from our readers.

Here is a breakdown of the elements of the new Positive Outlook:
• A flagship blog with articles and creative works published periodically (not waiting for a monthly publication date). Look for regular posts to begin in the course of the next month.
• A quarterly 'best of' publication, in electronic and paper forms, for distribution through our regular channels. All of those currently signed up for the electronic version of the monthly Positive Outlook will receive the new electronic Positive Outlook Quarterly. A number of paper copies will be printed for distribution at our Office and Drop In Resource Centre, as well as through clinics and partner organizations. Anyone wishing to receive the paper version through the mail is asked to sign up by contacting our Office by e-mail or in the more conventional ways (by phone or in person).
• ACCM will continue to publish a monthly paper calendar to promote upcoming activities. We will distribute this at the Office and Drop In Resource Centre, at clinics and partner organizations, but it will not be mailed to subscribers (postage represented more than half the cost of the monthly Positive Outlook).

We hope you will join us on this new adventure. Get involved by commenting on our stories or by submitting your own articles and creative works! We look forward to having this new experience with you.

Ken Monteith

Executive Director