It’s All In The Details

 Here we are again, January at Positive Women’s Network. I  haven’t heard any  big personal  resolutions, but everyone here is dealing with the details of everyday life that makes a difference for women with HIV. We’ve set our dates for retreats for the year, so that ‘s good news. Women who have never met anyone with HIV will have a chance to meet peers who’ve been positive for years. Women who live in isolation will be able, for a weekend anyway, to be as open as they wish. Sangam’s set the schedule for the support group, which has been going in one form or another for eight years.  Stacie’s back at Outreach after a break for the holidays. And I am working on the program for SpringBoard, our annual day conference held in honour of International Women’s Day.  

This time of year can make one think about resolution or change. Change can be good, for sure, but I don’t think it’s good if it is pressed upon you by a time of year or some other force.  At PWN we work from the idea that our members come here knowing what they need, or to explore what they need in a safe, non-judgmental space.  An HIV diagnosis is a complex turn of life, and it’s not surprising that lots of people want support, oftentimes outside of their regular communities.  They want to learn about their diagnosis, how to share it, what it will mean for their health and relationships.

I’ve worked here a long time and have talked to a lot of women. Some are resolved to take it all on at once while the knowledge is fresh. If their life has changed, why not tell their world and get it over with? Others go at a different pace, a little slower, telling one person at a time, finding an HIV doctor. If you think of it as a road, some women make it a sprint  pace while others make it a marathon. Each road belongs to an individual woman and she determines the kind of runner she is.

The staff at PWN honour each race. (You can see some of those roads in the stories of HIV & Me.) While there are some shared realities for women, of course everyone is unique. Everyone has good days and bad days. And everyone has the details of HIV to cope with. We do our best to support women do just that, through programming, and resources and who we are- the listener on the phone, the leader of the support group, the the hands passing the plate of food. Working with women in BC day to day is really in the details.  

- Janet

This was posted on Friday, January 9th, 2009 at 10:57 am and is filed under Daily Moments, Special Events, Spiritual and Emotional Health, Support . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.

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