It was at the Canadian Aids Society’s Pozitive Youth forum in 2015 when Piotr Burek, one of the organizers of Youth Unleashing Power: A Pozitive Youth Symposium (YUP), met a positive person from his generation for the very first time. For seven years since he tested positive, he had not had the opportunity to meet a positive peer his age. The empowering feelings of connecting with peers at the forum, something he yearned to experience for years, was one of […]
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Dear Future VPWAS Board Members Living with HIV has been both a burden and blessing. From the relentless social stigmas to outright rejection by family member and would-be lovers, to weekly doctor appointments and disability cheque debacles to the weekly after-shock of, “Fuck, did I take my meds today!” –all this compounded by stressors of a world that increasingly feels unhinged –why volunteer to help run a grassroots organization like Vancouver Island Persons Living with HIV/AIDS Society (VPWAS)? If all […]
Read more →Tuesday, July 26, 2016 VICTORIA TO MARK WORLD HEPATITIS DAY VICTORIA, BC — On Thursday, July 28th, Victorians will join millions of people around the world in observing World Hepatitis Day, an international event focused on raising awareness of viral hepatitis and advocating for change in disease prevention and access to testing and treatment. Approximately 140,000 British Columbians suffer from chronic hepatitis B and C which scar the liver and can go undetected for years, even decades, before damage results […]
Read more →Original article published Tuesday, 28 June 2016 on www.positivelite.com http://www.positivelite.com/component/zoo/item/youth-and-hiv-disclosure In December 2015, YouthCO HIV & Hep C Society, Canadian Positive People Network Youth Caucus, and the HIV Disclosure Project collaborated in a survey for youth under 30 years old which focused on experiences of HIV disclosure. Hopefully, many of you were able to participate in this survey, which was designed by Muluba Habanyama and YouthCO, in collaboration with CPPN-RCPS and HIV Disclosure Project. Earlier this month, Muluba was able […]
Read more →Welcoming Martin to the VPWAS Team! MARTIN is a self described 2 spirited Tlingit and Northern Tutchone young man from the Yukon Territory who currently lives in Victoria, BC. He is a Youth Mentor on the National Indigenous Youth Council on Sexual Health and HIV. Martin has recovered from addictions / mental health that lasted over 17 years and believes that his lived experiences will play a vital role in his dream to become the help he needed so badly […]
Read more →Vancouver Island Welcomes HIV Positive Youth from across Canada Youth Unleashing Power – a pozitive youth symposium #YUP2016 (Victoria, BC – June 2, 2016) Welcome! The Vancouver Island Persons Living with HIV/AIDS Society (VPWAS) welcomes HIV Positive Youth from across Canada to the first symposium created by and for pozitive Canadian youth. Youth aged 16-30, living with HIV/AIDS and/or Hepatitis C, will be gathering for Youth Unleashing Power – a pozitive youth symposium #YUP2016 from June 3-5 2016 on the […]
Read more →The International AIDS Candlelight Memorial, coordinated by the Global Network of People Living with HIV is one of the world’s oldest and largest grassroots mobilization campaigns for HIV awareness in the world. Since 1983, the memorial has taken place the 3rd Sunday of every May in 115 countries. Join VPWAS for the Victoria AIDS Candlelight Memorial – Victoria BC Join us by the fountains in Centennial Square at dusk for an informal gathering and open-mic. Date: Sunday May, 15 2016 […]
Read more →[Victoria, BC – April 8, 2016] In looking for ways promote and integrate our history of grassroots activism while still engaging our community in meaningful ways, the Board and Staff of the Vancouver Island Persons Living with HIV/AIDS Society (VPWAS), in consultation with membership, staff, volunteers and allies has decided we will not participate in the 2016 “Scotiabank AIDS Walk for Life”. VPWAS, along with the now-defunded Victoria AIDS Resource and Community Services Society (VARCS), have hosted this annual event […]
Read more →Pants Off, Dance Off Thursday, April 14 at 10 PM – 2 AM Lucky Bar, Victoria 517 Yates St, Victoria, British Columbia Facebook event page for more info: https://www.facebook.com/events/131952577198253/ Come dance your pants off for a good cause! Youth Unleashing Power is Canada’s first national symposium created by and for HIV and HCV positive youth. All funds raised from this event will be used towards travel costs for youth attending the symposium this June. We are also gratefully accepting donations towards this and other […]
Read more →From the Ocean to the Island “A comforting wreckage” “My name is John (name has been changed for privacy) and I have been diagnosed with HIV since 1986”. This was the bulk of my introductory email sent to Michael Yoder, liaison at the Pozitively Connected support group in Victoria. Little that I knew what I would get in return for being forthcoming about my status and blindly reaching out for support. Yes, I have survived the 80’s and the 90’s, but […]
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