Mr Australasia Bear Lends a Hand to Promote PRONTO!

In an ongoing effort to promote quick and convenient HIV & STI testing, the Victorian
AIDS Council (VAC) has partnered with Mr Australasia Bear 2014, Erin O’Neill, to release an online clip
promoting the PRONTO! service in Fitzroy.
Since opening in August 2013, PRONTO! has offered free rapid HIV testing to over two thousand men who
have sex with men (MSM). In 2014, the service started offering free syphilis testing as well as outreach
testing sessions in local Melbourne venues in the lead up to the AIDS 2014 conference in July. In order
to continue to engage the communities it serves, PRONTO! is working with community leaders like Mr
Australasia Bear 2014 to encourage MSM to look after their own sexual health and well-being by making
HIV & STI testing a regular part of their lives.
Erin O’Neill said, “It’s a great service that I’ve used. And PRONTO! lines up nicely with what we’re trying to
do at Vic Bears with BearHart. BearHart is the health and resources team at VicBears. Its goal is to facilitate
health promotion within the bear community. I know that there’s lots of people in the bear community
that don’t know about the PRONTO! service, so I’m happy to do my part and promote it.”
VAC CEO Simon Ruth added, “By building relationships with community leaders like Erin, we’re hoping to
incorporate the PRONTO! service into the lives of the bear community. We want quick and convenient
HIV & STI testing to be a normal part of their routine as well as the routines of all gay men and MSM in
Victoria.”
As part of this initiative for community engagement, the PRONTO! site is offering its Fitzroy site as a
community space for local groups to host events and meetings. Interested groups should contact PRONTO!
Team Leader Craig Burgess at (03) 9416 2889.
To view the clip “Visiting PRONTO! with Mr Australasia Bear” go to: bit.ly/PRONTObear