The buzz in the HIV/AIDS community these days is all about the International AIDS Conference. I attended one of the conferences in 2002. It was a whirlwind of activity and I wish I had been better prepared for the magnitude of the event. After the first day of just bouncing around aimlessly I made the point of sitting down every evening with the conference guide to choose what I would do the next day. I reviewed my plans over breakfast and then headed out the door. For a week I was immersed in the international HIV/AIDS community. I engaged in dialogue with people from around the world; my room mate was from Israel and she opened my eyes to challenges I had never thought about before. We were staying in a university dormitory with a few hundred other conference attendees. It was very exciting with conversations going well into the night.

This year the conference is in Vienna, Austria and there is a significance about this particular year – 2010 is the year all those great and powerful (read: wealthy) nations had set for universal access to treatment. Now we all know there is not universal access to treatment around the globe. We do not even have that here in Canada. Promises and platitudes. As much as I dislike focusing on the broken promises and empty platitudes I cannot help but see the fall-out from this lack of action. It can be heartbreaking at times.

Rather than amping up resources and support for HIV+ individuals they are actually  diminishing at an alarming rate. This past year major players have shifted their focus towards malaria and tuberculosis initiatives instead of HIV education, prevention and treatment. It’s all important. A life saved is always important. People need resources to combat malaria and tuberculosis. But why is it a matter of this over that? Why pull back on HIV/AIDS now? This is not the time to remove support from people living with HIV. The fight is not over. Not by a long shot.

Last December the International Community of Women Living with HIV closed down. It was an international network for HIV+ women and I visited the website regularly to keep informed and to hear from women around the world. I found it to be a valuable resource and a great tool to build community. Things are also shutting down closer to home. On June, 21, 2010 Voices of Positive Women in Toronto closed it’s doors. It makes me weep. It shakes me quite deeply. I rail against the powers that deem the closure of a support agency for HIV+ women to be a good decision. It is not a good decision and I fear it may be the shape of things to come. 

Despite the fear and deep disappointment I choose to look at our successes. Here in BC there is a resurgence of peer counselling and I’m witnessing a shift in how we advocate for one another. I’m seeing a return to one-to-one support. We’ve always been a resourceful bunch of individuals, especially at Positive Women’s Network. We continue to overcome obstacle after obstacle. I don’t see how a lack of financial resources will stop us from caring for one another. We are in this till the end. I close with this quote from an anonymous author because I love the image it conjures up: “Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ‘WOW What a Ride!”  Indeed. Hold on tight.

-Monique

Note: To watch live webcasts throughout the International AIDS Conference (July 18-23), visit Kaiser Family Foundation.

Positive women are having multiple healthy children and enjoying the joys and challenges of parenting. But being an HIV+ mom and dealing with questions from people who might not know about HIV can be stressful. Questions around breastfeeding alone can be tricky for women who haven’t disclosed to everyone in their community and wish to maintain their confidentiality.

Having a newborn for the first time or the fourth time is an adjustment. Want a confidential space to talk about your pregnancy ups and downs? Those first months of sleeplessness? How to maintain privacy for you and your baby? This June 14, we’ll be offering a support group for women who are pregnant or have had a baby in the past two couple of years.  Share your thoughts, worries, successes and delights with other women. Know you’re not alone.

The group is a partnership of Oak Tree Clinic, YouthCO and Positve Women’s Network. Lunch will be served, and it’s all free of charge if you’re a member of PWN, YouthCO or Oak Tree.

Pregnancy and New Mom Support group
June 14, 12 Noon to 1:30 PM
PWN’s Meeting Room: 103-1033 Davie Street
Please RSVP in advance to Dulce at Oak Tree: 604-875-2250. Bring your belly, bring your babe! If you need a childcare subsidy, please contact Dulce for more information.

 - Janet

What creates “community"? This is a question that was on my mind the other night at AccolAIDS, as I sat surrounded by warmth of spirit, laughter and fantastic people at BC Persons with AIDS Society’s fundraising event. I was so happy for the people who were nominated for their work, and tickled that some true friends got to take the stage and speak about what they do with amazing dedication. What I saw in that room was a mix of PWAs, health care providers, pharmaceutical reps, donors, and other community folks who are both paid staff and volunteers. This mix of people and passions creates supportive, kind, educational nets that the weary can fall into when necessary. Nets that provide firm enough footing to take another step. Nets that provide a wall to back up against when you need a vantage point for perspective.

The evening was a celebration of the work that’s been done and it was also a celebration of what is possible when we work together. In talking with a friend afterwards, she commented on how it must be difficult for non-profits that have to “duke it out” for funding pots, and particularly in these economic times. There’s opportunity for groups to get testy, sure, but I don’t see it if it’s happening. That’s one of the amazing things about working in this HIV community.

There really has been an effort amongst organizations that services aren’t unnecessarily duplicated, and I think that’s part of it. Organizations have evolved and there’s been consistent effort to create opportunities for groups to get together and share information about what they’re doing so that work is cooperative and comprehensive. There are local gatherings like the Community HIV/AIDS Committee, Women and Children Committee and the provincial efforts of the Pacific AIDS Network, which not only helps organizations to connect and share resources, but also helps to encourage PWA leadership skills development and provide professional development support.

The people in this community care about what happens. I love that.

Before I sign off, I’d like to send a special shout out to Monique Desroches, the recipient of the Kevin Brown PWA Hero Award. Monique has been an advocate at local, provincial and national tables on behalf of women. She’s currently Co-Chair of our Board, and her passions include housing access and microbicide development. Congratulations Monique!! For a complete list of AccolAIDS winners, visit BCPWA. 

- Janet

Next week is Prevention of Violence Against Women Week (April 19th to 26th, 2010), so naturally we at Positive Women’s Network decided to blog about it.  The rates of violence against women in BC and Canada are discouraging to say the least.  For some of these statistics, visit The Violence Stops Here.  I’ve been surfing the web looking for events and activities around the province and I want to highlight a few.  Of course, this is just a snippet of what’s going on, but it’s encouraging to see so many groups organizing and hosting amazing initiatives to raise awareness and get people mobilized against gendered violence.

In the Lower Mainland, the Urban Women’s Anti-Violence Strategy will again be presenting a series of film screenings, panel discussions and interactive forums.  This important partnership of feminist women’s organization currently includes WAVAW, Vancouver Rape Relief & Women’s Shelter, Battered Women’s Support Services, YWCA’s Munro House and Act II Safe Choice.

There is also a full line-up of events planned in Prince George – hosted by a number of  groups including the Elizabeth Fry Society, Phoenix Transition Society, and John Howard Society.

In Kimberley and Courtney, an impressive list of organizations and businesses have banded together to present their own Clothesline Project.  T-shirts painted by women, with messages relating their personal view of violence against women, will be on display in various locations.

Meanwhile, The Violence Stops Here will be hosting a Men’s Roundtable, bringing together men’s anti-violence activists, professional athletes and politicians – urging men to own their role in ending violence against women.  For more information, contact Battered Women’s Support Services.

In the coming week, whether you are a woman or a man, take a moment to think about what role you can play in preventing violence against women, and check out some of the events in your neighbourhood.  If you are a woman experiencing violence, don’t hesitate to call WAVAW’s 24 hour crisis line at 604-255-6344 / 1-877-392-7583

-Miriam

The days are getting longer (we did just “spring ahead” after all), the sun shines now and again, and my hay fever is driving me crazy … yes, it must be Spring. At Positive Women’s Network, that means SpringBoard! Join us for our annual conference, on Thursday April 22nd, from 4:00pm onward, at the Century Plaza Hotel (1015 Burrard St) in Vancouver.

This year’s theme, Confines of Health, focuses on the factors (positive and negative) that shape our health and our ability to access healthcare. In a workshop called We’re all in it together, Sharon Milewski will showcase the WISER project – a partnership between PWN and YouthCO – and will explore the barriers, challenges and strengths that young HIV+ and HepC+ women face. Emily Quinn and Sangam Grant will share what they have learned in their work educating and learning from geographically isolated women through Sangam’s service provider trainings and Emily’s LEAD (Leadership, Engagement, Action and Dialogue) project research. Monique Desroches’ Sacred Spaces workshop will look at acknowledging our whole selves as body, mind and spirit, and creating a sacred space to breathe and meditate.

We are thrilled to welcome three panelists for the keynote session this year – Dr. Ruth Martin, Dulce Feder and Amber Christie, who will share their experiences supporting women to develop health strategies while they are in prison and after.

SpringBoard is FREE and open to all members of PWN and other interested participants, including service providers. Men are welcome.
For more information or to Register, contact PWN at 604-692-3000 or pwn@pwn.bc.ca.

I hope to see you there!

-Miriam

 “What do you want to be remembered for?”
“Kindness.”

So answered wacky, over the top comedienne Phyllis Diller to interviewer Jian Ghomeshi earlier this week on CBC radio. I came in late on the broadcast, but I caught that gem at the end, simply and gently stated.

I first saw Phyllis Diller when I was a kid- her wild hair, long cigarette holder, and her raucous laughter that was often at herself. That vivid persona has stuck with me. When I heard her say she wants to be remembered for kindness, it was a lovely comment on what matters.

BC Persons with AIDS Society’s upcoming AccolAIDS is more than a comment on what matters, it’s an awards evening that honours volunteers, paid staff, visionaries, activists and consistent supportive voices who work on behalf of people living with HIV.

There are several different categories of awards, and people nominate their favourites to win. Kinda like the AIDS Oscars, if you will. I went for my first time last year, and had a great time seeing folks I work with but rarely get to relax with. I found it an amazing evening- the emotion and generousity in the room was moving.

It’s not only an opportunity to reflect on the heart and soul that pours into this community, it’s a fundraiser to support programs at BC PWA. – programs that make huge differences in peoples’ lives. Programs that help people to battle the daily stigma of living with HIV and take care of themselves so they may live lives as full as possible.

I have some folks  I’m rooting for to win, but to use the corny phrase, all the nominees are winners. They’ve all been singled out with respect buy their peers for their dedication to this work. Singled out to be remembered for their work, whether it’s advocating with politicians, working one-to-one with the newly diagnosed, or hundreds of other tasks.   I’ll be  lucky enough to be at the event on April 18 (note to self:  find something to wear) and hope you might consider it too. It’s a good time and a great cause. For more information go to BC PWA’s website and click on AccolAIDS.

- Janet

My name is Jessica Wadsworth and I am very pleased to join the team here at Positive Women’s Network. My official title is Casual Resource Coordinator, which means that I’ll be working intermittently at the PWN office, assisting with social media communications, writing for PWN’s quarterly publications and finding ways to get all of the wonderful resources available here out to all of you. I’m really looking forward to getting to know all of you – or your avatars as the case may be.

Since I am brand new here, I must say that I haven’t had a chance to do a whole lot yet. I’ve been encouraged to read (my favourite pastime) and familiarize myself with the various resources on hand here. So far this has been an amazing experience. There’s such an informative resource bookshelf and staff library here that I’m almost overwhelmed with new information about the services and resources that are available to those that walk through our doors. I hope to be able to pass this knowledge on to our growing community: our members, any partnering organizations, our staff and volunteers and anyone who simply wants to enlighten themselves about the challenges and triumphs of women reaching for self-empowerment and healthy lifestyles. I encourage you to pop by during our drop-in hours and check this library out.

On a personal note, I thought I would jot down a few things about myself just to make this post a little less formal. First off, I am a single-mother. Because of this, I have definitely faced challenges in ensuring that I stay emotionally, mentally and physically balanced. I constantly need to remind myself that this is the most important thing in my life and yet it’s just not easy to do when you’re the only one in charge of… everything. I found a great book here called the “Single-Mothers Resource Guide” published by Vancouver Status of Women. It’s like a cheat sheet of resources that single-mothers can access in this city and the information even takes into account recent provincial cutbacks. If this sounds like something for you, please come by and ask for it. I’m absolutely thrilled to have found it. In addition to that, I’m also a very politically-minded person. So I’ve always got my nose in one important social issue or another finding out just what’s wrong with the world and even, from time to time, attempting to change it.

I may use this blog as a place to urge some of you to action where cuts to HIV funding and support services are concerned. I’ll be keeping my eye on the Coalition to Build a Better BC’s actions in the next little while. This organization is calling on the provincial government to stop eliminating community and public services; fulfill their legislative responsibility to provide adequate, fair and consistent funding to support public services and community groups; and consult with groups and individuals to build public and community services that give every individual the opportunity to participate in building a better BC. They are having a free public dialogue session on March 20th. Register here. Finally,  I also like gardening, photography, poetry, writing and taking my daughter with me to cultural events. I’m going to do my best to work some of my hobbies into the job here at PWN, so be on the look out for some fun and free activities in the coming months!

Have a great day everyone!

Sincerely,
Jessica

After a day of listening to updates on HIV related disease and treatments, the word I kept writing down was inflammation. It’s not a word that applies only to the physical aspects of HIV, but the social aspects too. On a torrential Monday in November, I attended the BC Centre For Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BCCfE)’s treatment update, and this one featured speakers representing the International AIDS Society. It was a real gift to hear these folks from around the globe and note similarities and differences in the work we all do to support people living with HIV.

HIV disease is one of inflammation. Once it enters the bloodstream HIV attacks the gut, decimating protective CD4 cells and degrading the gut’s protective mucosa. The immune system fires up in response. A revved up CD4 response means more targets for HIV to attack, and the image of a body on fire wouldn’t be out of line. Specific topical inflammations can increase the risk of HIV transmission. Thankfully, HIV treatments act on HIV at different stages in its replication process, keeping HIV virus under control and allowing the immune system to rebuild. This attack/rebuild dance can continue for years and people can enjoy health they mightn’t have imagined before 1996, when HAART became the norm. 

If only it were that way for the social inflammation created by the mere idea of HIV. Not that I needed reminding, but Monday’s presenters pointed out that stigma, discrimination, racism, heterosexism and denial of any problem are ongoing hallmarks of HIV in countries the world over. On top of the issues noted above, women and girls bear the realities that sexism, intimate partner violence, unequal economic opportunities, childbearing and child rearing bring. HIV makes the burden even heavier. I thought of the late Jonathan Mann when Dr. Chris Beyrer echoed something Dr. Mann said in the early 90’s: for women in some cultures, marriage is a significant risk factor for HIV infection.

Moral judgments on harm reduction strategies as a means to reduce infection are of no use to anyone. “Now is not the time to limit use of any intervention with proven efficacy.” Beyrer was speaking of the infection rates in Russia, where rates in the IDU population is close to 50%, but I also thought about the struggle of Insite’s harm reduction work here at home.

HIV inflames the body and the cultures in which exists. It reveals biases that may have otherwise gone unremarked or more easily ignored. But now highlighted, we must continue to fight the virus and the ugliness it can create. What an energizing forum it was – a conference full of fighters from all over the world.

- Janet

This blog represents the ideas of individual writers, and does not necessarily reflect any formal stance taken by Positive Women’s Network.

Last week’s retreat was another huge success and many women came away connected and recharged, according to the evaluations. Retreats are unlike any other thing we offer. They are a whole weekend of symbolic unpacking by a variety of women with a range of life experiences (one attendee commented on the diversity of women and how well everyone got along). Women unpack their sadness of being diagnosed and feeling they can never look at life with hope again. Women can unpack their worries about going on treatment and how it might affect their bodies. Women unpack their long-term experiences with HIV, how they have made changes and stayed healthy. Women unpack their vulnerabilities and their successes, and share them.

All this unpacking makes change. People feel lighter, less burdened. They feel connected to others. They feel when they go back to their regular life that it is permanently changed. The space where we hold the retreats can handle it. The common room where much is shared is airy, the corridor leading to the bedrooms is wide, open. There is a lot of room for experiences. This is a place where women can talk, walk away, absorb, and revisit the same topic later with new thoughts that have arisen. This is how change happens and new possibilities grow. 

Retreats aren’t easy. Going away with a group of people who share a diagnosis that for many women is private and challenging can make for an emotional weekend. Disclosure is obvious, but not necessarily easy. Support staff are available, and there are always women who have been on a retreat before and know how intense it can be. A number of people commented on how much hope they got from talking with long term survivors. Retreats are a reminder of connection and healing at a deep level: one person reaching another. They define the “network” in PWN.

On Sunday, participants pack their belongings. But they also leave some stuff behind, and take new gifts with them. One woman said she’d be taking home “the laughter.” And that’s something great to pack.

- Janet

The next retreat will be in the spring.

This blog represents the ideas of individual writers, and does not necessarily reflect any formal stance taken by Positive Women’s Network. 

The Positive Spaces Healthy Places project research looked at housing security and HIV disease. Not surprisingly, they found that housing status related to health outcomes. PWN is hoping to do similar research here in BC so we can have the hard data to support advocacy for improved housing options for PWAs. PWN currently offers housing subsidies for a few members, but we would desperately like to be able to offer more. (If you want to help raise money for housing subsidies, join the PWN team at the AIDS Walk on September 20. Contact team captain Donna for information).

We realize that part of accomplishing more will be taking on housing at a higher level, pushing it into the spotlight as a significant factor in health outcomes (and saving the government in health care spending. Sometimes it has to be that blatant). So Marcie is in DC, soaking up the program:  ethical research techniques, policy development, discussions of housing stability and HIV risk, and housing stability and HIV progression. Hopefully it will ultimately lead to putting a roof over more people’s heads. 

-  Janet