HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario (HALCO)

HALCO will be closed from Thursday, March 28, 2024 at 5 p.m. Our office will re-open on Tuesday, April 2, 2024 at 9 a.m.

Our office hours are Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

HALCO is a charitable not-for-profit community-based legal clinic that provides free legal services for people living with HIV/AIDS in Ontario, Canada.

For more information about getting legal help from HALCO, please contact us.

HALCO also provides a variety of other services including public legal education, community development and law reform activities – please visit Our Services for more information.

COVID-19 Update

In response to the spread of COVID-19, we have altered our service delivery approach. We will continue to be open for intake for new inquiries on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (9 am – 5 pm) , and we will continue to provide services to ongoing clients. However, to do our utmost to ensure the health and safety of all, we have decided, until further notice, the following:

  1. To meet with clients in person only by appointment.; and
  2. To limit our participation in meetings and public legal education activities in person.

HALCO staff will be taking a hybrid work approach, splitting their time between working in the office and working from outside the office.  We ask that people not visit our office, but contact us via phone (416-340-7790 / 1-888-705-8889). Please note that we have historically done the majority of our client work via phone, due to our provincial mandate. As a result, the quality of service will not diminish.

As the situation surrounding COVID-19 continues to change, we will alter our approach as required. We will take an evidence-based approach and continue to fight against stigma/discrimination while working to address the concerns of equity-seeking groups, including people living with HIV, Indigenous persons, racialized individuals and those with low incomes.

Intake Hours for New Inquiries

Our intake hours for new inquiries are Monday and Wednesday, and Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. We do not take new inquiries on Tuesday or Thursday. Please see our Contact Us  page for more information about getting legal help.

Office Hours

Our office hours are Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed on government/public holidays). For new inquiries, please see intake hours above. Our general voicemail box is monitored Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Confidentiality

Your privacy is very important to us. HALCO follows the client confidentiality rules of the Law Society of Ontario.

Scent-reduced Environment

HALCO is a scent-reduced environment so please avoid wearing scents or fragrances when coming to our office.

image: We need prosecutorial guidelines

HALCO – HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario
Phone: 416-340-7790 or
toll-free in Ontario 1-888-705-8889
55 University Avenue, Suite 1400
Toronto, Ontario, Canada  M5J 2H7                  (signs in building say “HALCO”)
FAX: 416-340-7248
email: talklaw@halco.org

Please note that when you enter our address including our suite number (55 University Avenue, Suite 1400) on the internet, our full legal name of HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario will likely appear. If you want to reduce the chances of our name appearing in full, please use only 55 University Avenue when searching for our address or looking for directions to our office.

IMPORTANT – If you contact us by email:

  1. The internet is not private.  Email may be blocked or slow to arrive.
  2. Sending us an email does not mean that we are helping you or will be able to help you.
  3. You will not be our client and we will not act for you until we have an agreement with you.
  4. Unless we are already helping you with your legal matter, any information that you send to us will not be considered confidential. Even if we have helped you about other legal matters before, you should not send confidential information to us about new legal matters until we have agreed to advise you.
  5. HALCO follows the client confidentiality rules of the Law Society of Ontario.
  6. We suggest that you contact us by phone or drop in during our intake hours.

HALCO pamphlet cover image 2019HALCO pamphlet

Our HALCO information pamphlet is available in print and on-line. Almost everything that you might want to know about HALCO is in one pamphlet.  You can view our HALCO pamphlet on-line: https://www.halco.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/HALCO_pamphlet.pdf.  Please contact us if you would like to request print copies of our pamphlet.

HALCO Strategic Plan and Annual Reports

Our Strategic Plan 2017-2022 and Annual Reports provide information about HALCO and are available on the About Us page of our website.

HALCO Accessibility, Transit and Parking information

wheelchair symbol

For information about accessibility, transit and parking please see our HALCO Accessibility Information page, our HALCO Accessibility, Transit and Parking Information document in pdf document format and word document format, or contact us.

First Nations Acknowledgment

HALCO acknowledges that since time immemorial the land on which we work has been the home and traditional territory of Indigenous Peoples, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Haudenosaunee, the Huron-Wendat, and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples. We are here as guests and we are grateful to our hosts today and every day. Please see our Commitment to Reconciliation.