Hep C
Hep C program (TCHCP) staff are available by phone or onsite during regular office hours. TCHCP group members can also access program services and one-on-one check-ins with program staff Wednesday mornings between 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Note: screening for symptoms of COVID-19 is required when entering the building.
For program referrals or other questions please contact Noam Lapid, Hep C Treatment Nurse at 647-327-2839 or nlapid@sherbourne.on.ca.
Harm reduction supplies are available in the STASH room.
STASH’s hours of operations
Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 1 – 4 p.m.
On Thursdays, STASH runs from 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Supplies are also located externally to our building 24/7, outside our main entrance doors.
Toronto Community Hep C program
The Toronto Community Hep C Program (TCHCP) is a partnership between Sherbourne Health, Regent Park Community Health Centre, Parkdale Queen West, and South Riverdale Community Health Centre.
The TCHCP provides community based Hep C education, testing, treatment and support for people who have faced barriers to accessing mainstream health care. We aim to improve people’s quality of life by reducing the barriers and stigma for people living with Hepatitis C, providing equitable access to comprehensive care and services, strengthening the capacity of people with lived experience of HCV to self-advocate, and creating a sustainable program in order to build a healthy community.
The program comprises a team of health professionals dedicated to providing client-centred care for people with Hep C, including Primary Care Doctors, Nurses, Counsellors, Outreach Workers and Educators.
Download the Toronto Shelter-Hotel Overdose Preparedness Assessment Project – Final Report and Recommendations 2021 (PDF): completed by the Toronto Shelter Hotel Overdose Action
Download the Toronto Community Hep C Partnership Referral Form (PDF)
Hep C Treatment Groups
After completing an intake, the program offers treatment groups at three different sites: South Riverdale Community Health Centre, Regent Park Community Health Centre, and Sherbourne Health. If you are interested in joining these groups, please talk with your health care provider.
Hep C Continuing Care
This program group is for people who are not in a treatment group because they have completed treatment, have been taken off treatment or are not eligible for treatment.
We offer the following support:
- Testing for Hepatitis C
- Hepatitis & Harm Reduction information, education, and treatment
- Individual and group support
- Food and transportation for group attendance
- Testing for other infections
- Advocacy
- Referrals to other services
Are you at risk?
Hepatitis C is spread when blood that has Hep C in it gets into your bloodstream. Some activities put you at high risk, others have some risk, and some have no risk.
Hep C Groups
Hep C Treatment Group
A weekly drop-in breakfast and harm reduction space for people who need Hep C testing or who live with Hep C. Join us to build community and share learning with others while doing treatment. Self and community referrals welcome.
People who are Hep C negative are encouraged to contact us to inquire about other community resources.
Who: For people who need Hep C testing or who live with Hep C
When: Wednesdays, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Hep C Continuing Care
For people who have completed Hep C treatment through the Toronto Community Hep C Program and want to continue building community and ways of knowing with peers. Internal referrals only.
Who: TCHCP graduates.
When: Mondays, 1 – 3 p.m.
Anyone can get Hep C, but studies show that there are high rates in people who use and inject drugs, people living on the street, Indigenous individuals, people in prison and immigrants from countries where there are high rates of Hep C.
What are the signs of Hep C?
Many people do not feel sick when they are first infected with Hep C. If they do, the most common early symptoms are:
- Flu-like symptoms
- Mild fever
- Muscle aches
- Feeling very tired
- Loss of appetite
- Feeling sick
Many people do not feel sick when they are infected with Hep C. People living with chronic Hep C infection report fatigue, flu-like symptoms and joint and muscle aches that may be a result of chronic infection. Symptoms with advanced, chronic infection may include:
- Dark coffee-coloured urine (rather than dark yellow)
- Clay-coloured stools
- Stomach pain
- Yellowing of the skin and/or whites of the eyes
Even though you may have no symptoms for many years, you can still have an active infection and can pass on Hep C to others.
What should I know about treatment?
Hep C is much easier to treat than it used to be, even in more complicated cases (i.e. re-infection).
No matter what your liver’s condition is from your infection, you are still eligible for treatment. People who are actively using injection drugs or alcohol can and should get treated for Hep C.
Sherbourne Health uses pills from the class of medication called direct-acting antivirals, which for most people are easy to take and don’t make you feel sicker. Treatment usually lasts eight to 12 weeks. Almost everyone who takes their medication regularly can be cured from Hep C.
Contact us
For more information and to get connected with Hepatitis C care, treatment and support:
Drop by and speak to our Hepatitis C Treatment Nurses (no appointment necessary) or staff in the STASH room:
Noam Lapid, RN
(416) 324-4100 ext. 3245
Sherbourne Health
333 Sherbourne Street (Sherbourne & Carlton)
Hours
Tuesdays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Fridays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.