Blue Door Clinic was created through refusal, resilience, resistance, and the generosity of community organizations and individuals who believed in a vision when there was no money, no medications, and no guarantees.
Alessandro Bisignano first proposed the idea of a clinic for uninsured people at the Ontario HIV Treatment Network’s “Pitching the Tents” forum in 2018. Community agencies and committed people like Alessandro, Jeff Reinhart, Maureen Owino, Carolinda, Alan Li, Catherine, Ower Oberto, and organizations like CAAT, Casey House, Women’s Health in Women’s Hands, Toronto People with AIDS Foundation, Black-CAP, Queen West CHC, OHTN, ViiV Healthcare, and countless others seeded this work, filled gaps, and kept people alive.
In August 2019, Blue Door Clinic opened for service after extensive collaborative planning amongst a group of community health and social support organizations.
This initiative was launched in response to the growing reality that many individuals living in Toronto diagnosed with HIV have limited or no health insurance to secure treatment for HIV. Key populations impacted include: new immigrants/permanent residents within the initial 3-month OHIP waiting period; migrant workers and those awaiting renewed contracts or work visas; newcomers awaiting inland processing and review of their immigration and refugee applications; and international students studying in Toronto whose mandatory health insurance does not cover the full range of HIV care.
Since 2017, service providers in Toronto have reported an increase in this population and the need for service. One community partner Hassle Free Clinic, the largest provider of HIV testing services in Toronto, reported that 40% of clients testing HIV-positive in 2017 had inadequate health insurance or no coverage at all–notably, young gay men with student, visitor or work visas.
Following dialogue among service providers, community groups, and people living with HIV and/or AIDS (PHAs), ten community agencies and groups came together and developed the Blue Door Clinic with the goal of supporting PHAs with limited or no health insurance. The group conducted community needs assessments and focus groups with affected community members to co-develop the clinic service model.
The founding organizations in this collaboration were: the Black Coalition for AIDS Prevention, Casey House, the Centre for Spanish-speaking Peoples, the Committee for Accessible AIDS Treatment (CAAT), Hassle Free Clinic, the Ontario HIV Treatment Network (OHTN), Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre, Regent Park Community Health Centre, Sherbourne Health, and Toronto People with AIDS Foundation (PWA).
The project has two streams:
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- Deliver a scheduled clinic for PHAs with limited or no health insurance.
- Support primary care providers to build their knowledge and capacity to deliver primary care to this population.
The agency representatives formed a steering committee to oversee the operation of the project. The clinic’s service providers (health service providers, case management and community support, peer navigation support) work with us as in-kind contributions by collaborating partner agencies.
In 2023, Blue Door Clinic moved from its first home at Regent Park Community Health Centre to Casey House.
Blue Door Clinic, much in demand today, grew from a collective vision held by many, nurtured through struggle and solidarity.
