ISH CHC Funding Appeal

Island Sexual Health Community Health Centre is facing an imminent interruption to its sexual health services due to a funding shortfall. Without immediate support, we risk further cuts to our sexual health services—jeopardizing access to vital sexual health care for the community we love and serve. The impact is already being felt: our community education program—reaching over 20,000 students and families each year—has been suspended and we have been forced to lay off clinical support staff. Chronic systemic underinvestment and rising operational costs have forced us to lay off 7 essential team members—including front desk clinic staff.

These people are the foundation of our operations, ensuring timely, uninterrupted access to our services. Without immediate support, we will be forced to cut or even eliminate vital clinical services for the 11,000+ patients who rely on us each year for their sexual and reproductive wellbeing – leaving patients with no choice but to rely on already overburdened services such as emergency rooms and urgent and primary care centres. The consequences will be profound: increased rates of preventable sexually transmitted and blood borne infections (STBBI), delayed diagnoses of serious conditions like cervical cancer, interrupted access to HIV prevention medication (PrEP and PEP), and reduced gender-affirming care. Adequate, sustained, and equitable funding for sexual and reproductive healthcare and education is essential to uphold human dignity, advance gender equality, and ensure universal access to vital health services such as those that ISH has provided to Victoria since 1969. Island Sexual Health has always been community-driven and community-focused. We have survived and thrived because people like you believe that sexual health is essential health. Check out our 2024/25 Impact report to see how expansive our community reach is.

We urgently need to raise $50,000 by November 30th to keep our clinical services operating and ensure no one loses access to critical sexual health care.*

How You Can Help

1. Donate today through one of our funding campaigns Canada Helps or Go Fund Me
2. Share this message with your friends, family, and networks who care about sexual and reproductive health care access – Follow us on Instagram and you can share our message directly from there
3. Become a monthly donor to sustain services into the future.
4. Have a fundraising idea? We’d love to hear from you.
5. Share your impact story with us. Let us know how important sexual health care and education is to you, how the services you’ve received from us has had a positive impact on your life and how a reduction of services would impact your sexual wellbeing. 

Your Tax Receiptable Gift Makes a Real Impact

• $50 – One hour of information and referrals for youth through our youth Q&A text line
• $75 – Provides safer sex supplies at no cost to one client for one year
• $125 – Covers gender-affirming apparel and supplies for one client
• $250 – Funds one full day of administrative support in the provision of one to one client communication
• $500 – Supplies essential sexual health medications to uninsured patients
• $1,000 – Sponsors sexual health education for 8 Grade 9/10 high school classes in a single school
• Monthly Giving Option: Just $25/month sustains ongoing access to care

Together, we can ensure that sexual health care in our community remains accessible, inclusive, and compassionate. Please act today— without your help, tomorrow may be too late.

With immense gratitude,
Island Sexual Health

*This appeal is specifically for our episodic sexual health services which serve the entire community. Our attached primary care patients will continue receiving care, but thousands who rely on our specialized sexual health services risk losing access.”