About RHAC

Making HIV History Since 1985 

Regional HIV/AIDS Connection (RHAC) provides essential programs, supportive services, and educational outreach to individuals affected by HIV and hepatitis C. By connecting people to the care and supports they deserve, we create healthier communities for everyone.

RHAC started in 1985 when a small group of volunteer activists came together as “the AIDS Committee of London.” This local response to the AIDS crisis has grown into a regional response to HIV, hepatitis C, and some of the most complex health issues in our community. From our hometown of London, Ontario, we continue to serve individuals across the six counties of Elgin, Huron, Lambton, Middlesex, Oxford, and Perth.

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Stigma-Free Services for Everyone

HIV can affect anyone. Our programs and services are here for everyone to access the prevention and treatment options they deserve. We’re here for you without judgement, whenever you’re ready. We provide welcoming spaces where you can access treatment and prevention options. Whether you’re looking for testing, community programs, or answers to difficult questions, we’ll meet you where you are  — with dignity, respect, and understanding. 

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Advocacy 

We work alongside communities to advocate for positive change and take action against stigma and discrimination. Our team of Case Managers and peers are prepared to accompany clients through every stage of their care journey to advocate for their healthcare needs. Driven by the belief that organizations ought to reflect the populations they serve, we empower people living with and impacted by HIV and hepatitis C to help us lead positive change and community responses.

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Creating a Healthier Community Where No One is Left Behind 

RHAC helps to break down the barriers that make it harder to put your health first. For the past four decades, we have worked to make room for everybody in the HIV movement, leaving nobody behind as we build a future free from stigma—together.  

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Our Goals

• Increase health equity;
• Increase connection to prevention, testing, treatment, and quality of life for those living with or systemically at-risk of HIV/AIDS and hep C;
• Decrease transmission of HIV/AIDS and hep C and eliminate related stigmas; and
• Decrease preventable harms and deaths. 

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Our Principles 

• Dignity
• Inclusion
• Responsiveness
• Peer Engagement
• Advocacy
• Greater Involvement and Meaningful Engagement of People Living with HIV/AIDS (GIPA/MEPA)
• Accountability
• A Learning Culture
• Honouring our History
• Harm reduction
• Collaboration
• Valuing staff and volunteers 
• Respect
• Health equity 

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Guided by GIPA/MEPA

As an HIV service organization, RHAC is committed to the principles of GIPA/MEPA. GIPA stands for the Greater Involvement of People Living with HIV/AIDS. MEPA is short for the Meaningful Engagement of People Living with HIV/AIDS. These guiding philosophies are based on the idea that people living with HIV should be meaningfully involved and engaged at all levels of an HIV organization and its decision-making. At RHAC, we remain dedicated to empowering, engaging, and employing people living with HIV as contributors and leaders who move our mission forward.