Vancouver Island PWA Society

04/01/2026

Thank you Vancouver Island PWA Society for your 35 years of peer leadership, and ensuring peer support and community care by-and-for people living with HIV. VPWAS, we are glad you chose to continue what you have built, your history, your community, and commitment to people living with HIV with Ribbon Community. Ribbon is glad to carry forward together as one amalgamated organization of VPWAS and Ribbon, pulling together the past, present, and future of the HIV response.

Starting April 1, Ribbon Community is home to in-person, phone, and online peer support from past VPWAS team members, in English and Spanish. People living with HIV on Vancouver Island and the surrounding communities can call or text Numa at 250-382-7927, or email PeerNavigation@RibbonCommunity.org to access this peer support.

The women's group at VPWAS will continue meeting online and in-person, and we remain open to community collaborations for events, ceremonies, memorials, and education, and most especially, great ideas from people living with HIV to come

03/31/2026

Alongside friends, colleagues, and communities the world over, the HIV Legal Network mourns the passing of Stephen Lewis. He was a true champion for those living with and affected by HIV, a committed human rights activist, and a mensch beyond measure. Today, the world feels heavier without Stephen in it.

Stephen Lewis shone an incredible spotlight on the HIV and AIDS epidemic, including on the affected people at its centre who had for too long been ignored, stigmatized, criminalized, and pushed to the very edges of society. Of course, we know that this marginalization persists, but Stephen believed that more could — and can — always be done, especially by centring the human rights and the humanity of those most affected, including and importantly women. He believed in the power of community, and in the power that is inherently of the people. Above all, Stephen Lewis believed in hope, and he taught us to believe in it, too.

Finding the words to express what Stephen meant to the Legal Network, and indeed to the HIV community around the world, is difficult. Stephen, of course, always had the perfect words on the tip of his tongue. He was a gifted orator and used his power of persuasion on many occasions in support of our shared issues, which included access to medicines for all, ending HIV criminalization, and advancing progressive drug policy in Canada and beyond. He was a friend and mentor to Legal Network staff and would often send encouraging notes of appreciation that many of us have kept, buoying our spirits in times of particular trial. How precious those words feel now, as we continue the pioneering work Stephen Lewis led for so many years.

Our hearts are with Stephen’s beloved wife, children, grandchildren, and extended family and friends, and for all who are grieving the loss of an extraordinary man.

May his memory be a blessing. Indeed, it already is.

03/21/2026

Opportunities at Ribbon Community

We are hiring two unionized Team Lead positions! Applications from people that Ribbon Community supports and empowers - people living with HIV, and HIV-negative people who have s*x and/or use substances in ways that may include coming into contact with HIV, youth - are welcomed and encouraged. We deeply believe in peer leadership within the HIV response in frontline services and the senior leadership of the organization.

In Songhees, Xwepsum,and W̱SÁNEĆ also known as Victoria, we are hiring a Team Lead, Vancouver Island & Positive Women's Programs.

In Musqueam, Squamish & Tsleil-Waututh also known as Vancouver, we are hiring a Team Lead, Youth & Trans Lunch Club.

Both positions are 32 hours per week, in-person roles working alongside peer navigators, program assistants, and group facilitators to bring our programs that support and empower our communities to life. Get the details and apply by March 29 at www.RibbonCommunity.org/jobs.

03/18/2026

03/18/2026

Since 1994, YouthCO has been a unique space for youth-driven, anti-oppressive, s*x-positive, and innovative programs, conversations, and support. Today, YouthCO announced a winding down of the organization by March 31, 2026. This is an immense loss in our communities. Youth leadership is irreplaceable.

To YouthCO, Yúusnewas, Mycelium, and the youth who have brought this organization to life over many years: thank you for your 30+ years of youth leadership, anti-oppression, s*x-positivity, innovation, creating community, and building leaders. in the HIV and Hep C movement. Your lessons, impact, and opportunities for youth leadership will continue. You will be missed.

To the youth, children, and families saying goodbye to YouthCO: we know saying goodbye is hard, and it will never be the same at an adult-led organization. We will hold space for this grief as we welcome you with open arms, and create youth spaces and youth leadership here at RIbbon.

The profound impact of YouthCO will continue with the communities built by youth leadership, and the generations of volunteers, staff, young leaders, participants in the programs, learners in and out of classrooms who learned with and from YouthCO.

Some of YouthCO's current programs by-and-for youth living with HIV will transition to Ribbon Community over the coming weeks. Peer support by-and-for youth is already in place, and Camp Moomba and positive youth programs will come in time. To connect with Ribbon’s peer support team (including youth living with HIV), call or text us at 236-833-0175.

Over the coming weeks, we are working closely with YouthCO and our funders to ensure peer support, community programs, and Camp Moomba continue. Although it will not be the same at an adult-led organization, we will ensure leadership opportunities for youth as these programs transition to Ribbon.

With love and care,

Ribbon Community

02/28/2026

Today we observe international HIV is Not a Crime (HINAC) Awareness Day. Today and every day, the Canadian Coalition to Reform HIV Criminalization (CCRHC) recognizes the brave advocacy of people living with HIV worldwide who speak out in the face of persecution, including through prosecution.

HINAC Day, launched in the United States in 2022 through the joint efforts of the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation and the SERO Project, is designed to bring people together to stand in unity against the harms and violence of the criminalization of people living with HIV. HINAC Day has been acknowledged in Canada since 2024.

In this country, people living with HIV can be charged with aggravated s*xual assault, listed on the s*x offender registry, and spend years in prison for allegedly not telling their s*xual partner of their HIV status in certain circumstances. This includes instances where there was little to no possibility of transmission, no intent to transmit, and no actual transmission.

More than 220 people in Canada have been prosecuted for alleged HIV non-disclosure since 1989, with Black men vastly overcharged, and Indigenous people (including women) and gay men facing greater risk of prosecution. In addition to potential imprisonment, charges under these laws can also result in barriers to housing and employment, social exclusion, increased risks of violence and abuse, and psychological harms.

Until the law is changed, everyone in Canada who is living with HIV is forced to live in fear of criminalization, whether they are ever prosecuted or not. Criminalization reinforces and codifies the ongoing stigma experienced every day by people living with HIV in Canada.

Read more: www.hivcriminalization.ca/media-releases/

02/25/2026

In My Day: Community Gathering at the University Club and Phoenix Theatre, UVic.

Join us for a free afternoon and evening of connection, activities, and a special viewing of In My Day, a verbatim theatre production based on the interviews collected from the community-based HIV In My Day oral history project with 100+ long-term survivors and caregivers from across British Columbia.

When: Saturday March 14, 2026 (non-alcoholic refreshments and hot dinner provided)
Where: University Club and Phoenix Theatre, University of Victoria
RSVP: https://www.surveymonkey.ca/r/IMDCommunityGathering (complete once for each person attending, by March 1 )

02/21/2026

We are amalgamating with the amazing folks at Vancouver Island PWA Society, effective April 1. This partnership unites two of BC's HIV organizations to ensure long-term stability and peer support for people living with HIV. All frontline services will remain the same at both Ribbon and VPWAS, with the opportunity to ensure better access to Ribbon's current services, like free therapy for newcomer women living with HIV and their families, for people throughout the Islands.

Learn more at https://vpwas.com/ribbon-community-and-vpwas-announce-amalgamation-to-strengthen-hiv-support-across-the-lower-mainland-and-vancouver-island/

02/03/2026

01/20/2026

Attn: VPWAS Members

Vancouver Island Persons Living with HIV/AIDS Society
Special General Meeting
Date: Monday, February 2, 2026
Time: 6:00 PM (PST)

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You are invited to attend a Special General Meeting to VOTE on the following resolution to approve the amalgamation of VPWAS and Ribbon Community Society.

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Vancouver Island Persons Living with HIV/AIDS Society amalgamate with Ribbon Community Society, per the terms of the amalgamation agreement dated January 19, 2026.

To view the Amalgamation Agreement, click here:

http://vpwas.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/VPWAS-Ribbon-Amalgamation-Agreement.pdf

If you wish to attend the meeting, RSVP to info@vpwas.org.

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Vancouver Island Persons Living with HIV/AIDS Society and Ribbon Community Society (founded as AIDS Vancouver in 1983) are pursuing amalgamation. This amalgamation will ensure the continuation of a peer leadership within the HIV response throughout the Islands and create new opportunities to support and empower communities living with - and impacted by - HIV and HIV stigma. This new chapter as an amalgamated Society will continue our shared work to pull together the past, present, and future of the HIV response in BC.

Over the past several months, VPWAS and Ribbon have collaborated closely on services for people living with HIV. We are confident that amalgamation will allow for a continuation of each organization's strengths, programs, and services, including peer navigation available through Penny and Numa, and the women's group.

Throughout the month of February, VPWAS and Ribbon will be working with our memberships to complete the legal process of amalgamating these two Societies, expecting this to be effective April 1, 2026. We will continue to provide updates throughout this process as we amalgamate as Ribbon Community Society and ensure ongoing peer leadership in the future of the HIV response.

VPWAS Board Chair Robert Birch (Robert.Birch@vpwas.org) and Ribbon Community ED Sarah Chown (SarahC@RibbonCommunity.org) are both available to answer questions and provide support through this change.

01/18/2026

from Ribbon Community

Throughout 2025, we connected with people living with HIV across British Columbia to identify top policy issues for Ribbon to prioritize in our GIPA/MEPA program. With three areas now identified - access to primary and specialist care, engagement of people living with HIV in decisions that about HIV, and HIV-responsive provincial support programs - we are looking to reconnect with community members on these topics. This online conversation will be a chance to add personal stories and perspectives as we work to bring these conversations to the provincial government.

To confirm your spot in our Zoom session, email Wayne at WayneC@RibbonCommunity.org, text or phone at 604-347-9878, or register now at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/usiVh8LvRG2k7VjYT4b4xg #/registration

01/14/2026

Important information about VPWAS - https://mailchi.mp/cbbc37b87fbe/vpwas-update-10614398