Positive Living 112 by Positive Living Magazine

SUNDAY APRIL 22 6-10PM

PRESENT

1055 Canada Place Summit Room (West Building)

N E W S A N D T R E AT M E N T I N F O R M AT I O N F R O M T H E P O S I T I V E L I V I N G S O C I E T Y O F B R I T I S H C O L U M B I A

Vancouver Convention Centre

ISSN 1712-8536

MARCH • APRIL 2018 VOLUME 20 • NUMBER 2

2018 accolaids.ca

A biennial awards gala honouring heroes in the BC HIV/AIDS movement Join us for cocktails & a silent auction to be followed by a 3 course dinner, live auction, entertainment & awards presentation. For more information (nominations, tickets or a ticket subsidy sponsorship)

AWARD SPONSORS

AccolAIDS.ca 604.893.2242 accolaids @ positivelivingbc.org A designated number of complimentary tickets have been sponsored for persons living with HIV/AIDS on a random, lottery basis. Please contact 604.893.2200 for more information.

Online Dating Blues

Cancer and Aging

A Prisoner’s Redemption

POSITIVE

A CONFERENCE DEVELOPED FOR AND BY HIV+ PEOPLE IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

G AT H E R I N G

Str8 Guys Nite

MARCH 30

â&#x2013;¾

APRIL 1 2018

PRESENTED BY AIDS Vancouver AIDS Vancouver Island AFRO-Canadian Positive Network ANKORS DTES Consumers Board Living Positive Resource Center Positive Living BC Positive Living North REL8 Vancouver Native Health ViVa YouthCO

Coast Coal Harbour Hotel 1180 W Hastings | Vancouver BC

positivegathering.com Space is limited. Register now! 604.893.2209 â&#x20AC;¢ 1.800.994.2437 info@positivegathering.com

FUNDING HAS GENEROUSLY BEEN PROVIDED BY THE COMMUNITY ACTION FUND, TRANSITION FUNDING, OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH AGENCY OF CANADA

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I N S I D E

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AIDS AND CANCER

A closer look at cancer in Poz men and women 50+

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COVER STORY

Could non-disclosure decriminalization be closer to a reality?

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LET’S GET CLINICAL

New pilot study eyes efficacy of a pill for functional cure

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NUTRITION Train your taste buds for a richer experience

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ViVA WOMEN

Proclaim this year for self-love

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THE POSITIVE GARDENER REALIZE YOUR FULL POTENTIAL Our intrepid gardener tames the wild of The Sunshine Coast

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POZ CONTRIBUTIONS Recognizing Positive Living BC supporters

 positivelivingbc.org

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HOPE FROM HELL Life lessons and hard truths from a prisoner

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GIVING WELL

A Q&A with one of First of a new series about our most recognizable fundraisers mental, emotional and spiritual wellness

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VOLUNTEER PROFILE

Volunteering at Positive Living BC

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LAST BLAST Learning to date anew in the age of Smartphones and apps

HEALTH PROMOTION PROGRAM MANDATE & DISCLAIMER In accordance with our mandate to provide support activities and prejudice. The program does not recommend, advocate, or endorse facilities for members for the purpose of self-help and self-care, the the use of any particular treatment or therapy provided as information. Positive Living Society of BC operates a Health Promotion Program The Board, staff, and volunteers of the Positive Living Society of to make available to members up-to-date research and information BC do not accept the risk of, or the responsiblity for, damages, on treatments, therapies, tests, clinical trials, and medical models costs, or consequences of any kind which may arise or result from associated with AIDS and HIV-related conditions. The intent of the use of information disseminated through this program. Persons this project is to make available to members information they can using the information provided do so by their own decisions and access as they choose to become knowledgeable partners with hold the Society’s Board, staff, and volunteers harmless. Accepting their physicians and medical care team in making decisions to information from this program is deemed to be accepting the terms promote their health. The Health Promotion Program endeavours to of this disclaimer. provide all research and information to members without judgment or P5SITIVE LIVING | 1 | MARCH •• APRIL 2018

Message The Positive Living Society of British Columbia seeks to empower persons living with HIV disease and AIDS through mutual support and collective action. The Society has over 5700 HIV+ members. POSITIVE LIVING EDITORIAL BOARD Neil Self, co-chair, Joel Nim Cho Leung, co-chair, Ross Harvey, Elgin Lim, Tom McAulay, Jason Motz, Adam Reibin MANAGING EDITOR Jason Motz

DESIGN / PRODUCTION Britt Permien FACTCHECKING Sue Cooper COPYEDITING Maylon Gardner, Heather G. Ross PROOFING Ashra Kolhatkar CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Lorenzo Cryer, Andrew Ehman, Karen Giesbrecht, Jason Hjalmarson, Jason Motz, Val Nicholson, Neil Self, Sean Sinden, Darren Tobin, Tammy C. Yates PHOTOGRAPHY Britt Permien DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND EDUCATION Adam Reibin DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS AND SERVICES Elgin Lim TREATMENT, HEALTH AND WELLNESS COORDINATOR Brandon Laviolette SUBSCRIPTIONS / DISTRIBUTION John Kozachenko Funding for Positive Living is provided by the BC Gaming Policy & Enforcement Branch and by subscription and donations. Positive Living BC | 1101 Seymour St. Vancouver BC V6B 0R1

 Reception 604.893.2200  Editor 604.893.2206  living@positivelivingbc.org  positivelivingbc.org

Permission to reproduce: All Positive Living articles are copyrighted. Non-commercial reproduction is welcomed. For permission to reprint articles, either in part or in whole, please email living@positivelivingbc.org

from the chair

NEIL SELF

New dental clinic to service all communities

I write this, we are preparing for the launch of our Community Dental Clinic located on the first floor of 1101 Seymour Street (across the hall from the AIDS Vancouver grocery). For people living with HIV (PLHIV), simple infections can have serious implications and dangerous consequences. To ensure that dental problems do not lead to serious or even life threatening infections, PLHIV need access to regular dental care: dental cleanings, fillings, crowns, root canals, and even extractions. Our aim is to provide all of these services and more at the Community Dental Clinic. While we are experts in running our health and wellness clinic, the dental clinic is a different endeavour and requires a much more specialized system of operations. We are dedicated to providing our patients with the highest quality care—and the least amount of administrative hassle— so we’ve hired a Dental Clinic Coordinator to handle the day-to-day running of the clinic. Juhee Ryan grew up in Busan, South Korea and has lived in Canada for four years now. She has a background in education and the dental industry. Juhee is a Certified Dental Assistant and has a strong interest in public health. Juhee’s responsibilities include patient billing because even though Positive Living BC members will receive free dental exams and X-rays, there are costs associated

P5SITIVE LIVING | 2 | MARCH •• APRIL 2018

with other services and services provided to patients who are not Society members. Yes, you read that correctly: the Community Dental Clinic is not just for Positive Living BC members. The clinic’s mandate is to provide oral and dental care to PLHIV and “other underserviced individuals.” While there is a definite need among PLHIV for dental care, there just are not enough PLHIV patients to make the clinic financially viable. I understand that some of my peer members might have special sensitivities around sharing our space with non-PLHIV. So let me assure you that member privacy remains of utmost importance to those of us leading the clinic—and like any other area of our Society, the clinic will be a safe space for PLHIV. Please contact me at neils@positivelivingbc.org if you need further clarification on this matter. And be sure to contact Juhee (juheer@ positivelivingbc.org or 604.893.2202) for more information about booking your appointment today. Juhee isn’t the only new face around here. After an exhaustive search, we filled our long-vacant Treatment Outreach Coordinator position in January. Yaz Shariff joins us with a healthcare background gained in both public and private sectors. Yaz has lived in Canada for two years and plans to settle in Vancouver for the long term. 5

Cannabis may help PLHIV keep mental stamina

pA chemical found in cannabis,

known as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), has been found to potentially slow the process of mental decline in up to 50 percent of HIV patients, says a Michigan State University study. “It’s believed that cognitive function decreases in many of those with HIV partly due to chronic inflammation that occurs in the brain,” said Norbert Kaminski, lead author of the study, now published in the journal AIDS. Kaminski and his co-author, Mike Rizzo, discovered that the compounds in cannabis acted as anti-inflammatory agents, reducing the number of inflammatory white blood cells, called monocytes, and decreasing the proteins they release in the body. This decrease of cells could slow down, or maybe even stop, the inflammatory process, potentially helping patients maintain their cognitive function longer,” Rizzo said. The two researchers took blood samples from 40 HIV patients who reported whether or not they used cannabis. Then, they isolated the white blood cells from each donor and studied inflammatory cell levels and the effect cannabis had on the cells. “The patients who didn’t smoke cannabis had a very high level of inflammatory cells compared to

those who did use,” Kaminski said. “In fact, those who used cannabis had levels pretty close to a healthy person not infected with HIV.” HIV infects and can destroy or change the functions of immune cells that defend the body. With antiretroviral therapy (ARV) these cells have a better chance of staying intact. Yet even with this therapy, certain white blood cells can still be stimulated and eventually become inflammatory. “We’ll continue investigating these cells and how they interact and cause inflammation specifically in the brain,” Rizzo said. “What we can learn from this could also have implications to other brainrelated diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s since the same inflammatory cells have been found to be involved.” Knowing more about this interaction could ultimately lead to new therapeutic agents that help patients maintain their mental function. Source: msutoday.msu.edu/ journalists/

HIV vaccination doesn’t lead to viral suppression

pA randomized, double-blind,

placebo-controlled clinical trial found no benefit for a therapeutic HIV vaccine, but could offer researchers much needed insights for future cure efforts. The authors say their results represent yet another addition P5SITIVE LIVING | 3 | MARCH •• APRIL 2018

to the burgeoning body of evidence that therapeutic vaccination fails to help patients suppress HIV in the absence of ARV. Although ARV has provided tremendous benefits for prolonging life spans of those infected with HIV, the regimens have not been able to eliminate the virus from its reservoirs within the body. Therapeutic vaccination has emerged as a potential strategy to boost people’s own immune responses against HIV so they can control the virus without ARV. To study the effectiveness of such an approach, Michael Sneller, Anthony Fauci, and colleagues recruited a cohort of HIV-infected individuals from the US and Canada who had initiated ARV shortly after their initial diagnosis. During a 36-week period where all participants continued treatment, 14 people received four injections of a therapeutic HIV vaccine, and 15 individuals were administered saline as a control. When ARV was discontinued for 16 weeks under supervision of the researchers, there was no difference observed in viral rebound between placebo and vaccine groups. Surprisingly, four people in the placebo group exhibited spontaneous HIV suppression—a substantially greater proportion than would be predicted by the estimated prevalence of socalled “elite HIV controllers” in the general population. Source: aaas.org

Second HIV test helps prevent incorrect diagnosis in infants

Confirmatory HIV testing can substantially reduce the number of infants in South Africa who may be falsely diagnosed as HIV-infected and started on unneeded treatment, according to a study in PLOS Medicine. Confirmatory testing is recommended by the WHO and South African guidelines, but in many settings, uptake is low. The specificity of nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) for early infant HIV diagnosis (EID) is less than 100 percent, meaning some infants are incorrectly diagnosed with HIV. Using an existing computer simulation model of pediatric HIV, the authors of the new study examined the impact of a second NAAT in infants to confirm a first positive result. They assumed a NAAT cost of $25, specificity of 99.6 percent, and sensitivity of 100 percent. Without confirmatory testing, 128 of every 1000 infants initiating ARV were actually HIV-uninfected, due to false-positive diagnoses; with confirmatory testing, only one out of 1000 infants initiating ARV was truly uninfected. Because a second round of testing averted costly and unnecessary HIV care and ARV in HIV-uninfected infants, the additional testing was projected to be cost-saving over a lifetime, costing $1,790 per infant tested, compared to $1,830 without confirmatory

testing. The study went on to show that when confirmatory testing is used, ARV should be initiated immediately after a first positive NAAT. Waiting even one month until the return of a second test to initiate ARV can markedly reduce both short-term and long-term survival for HIV-infected infants. “We find that use of a second NAAT for confirmatory testing in EID programmes will substantially reduce the proportion of infants incorrectly diagnosed as HIV-infected and initiated on ARV in settings with low infant HIV transmission rates like South Africa,” said Lorna Durning of the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Source: www.plos.org

Poz women not following statin recommendations

pA new study shows that HIV-

infected women do not use statins as recommended by most guidelines. Control of blood lipid levels to prevent heart disease is especially important in HIV-positive women, and they may also benefit from the potential anti-inflammatory effects of statins, as described in an article published in AIDS Patient Care and STDs, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert Inc. publishers. In the article “Underutilization of Statins When Indicated in HIVSeropositive and Seronegative Women,” a national team of coauthors evaluated the use of statins by both P5SITIVE LIVING | 4 | MARCH •• APRIL 2018

HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected women in whom their use is indicated. Statin use five years after indicated was low for both groups of women, with a rate of 38 percent for HIVinfected women. New guidelines for statin use released in 2013 increased the percentage of HIVinfected women for whom statin use is recommended from 16 percent to 45 percent. “Despite the fact that HIV-infected individuals in the US may have greater contact with healthcare providers than uninfected individuals of the same age, that is not reflected in consideration of their cardiac health,” said Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Laurence, MD, Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY. “This is clearly an important message as a major impediment to reaching a normal lifespan for HIV-positive individuals may be acceleration of disorders associated with aging, particularly cardiovascular disease.” Source: www.liebertpub.com 5

Mea Culpa!

An article in the Nov/Dec 2017 issue was improperly credited. The Oak Tree Clinic feature should have been credited to Dr. Neora Pick and Sidney Lancaster.

Assessing cancer risks of PLHIV over the age 50 By Michael Carter

The

risk of several cancers increases with age for older HIV-positive people, investigators from the United States report in Clinical Infectious Diseases. HIV-positive individuals aged 50 and over had a significantly higher incidence of numerous cancers, including several not normally considered HIV-related. The absolute risk of anal, lung, liver, and oral/throat cancers increased as PLHIV aged. “We observed that cancer risk was elevated in older HIV-positive people compared to the general population, though the relative risk of most cancers declined with age,” the authors said. “However, EARs [excess absolute risks], which measure absolute risk and thus reflect the number of excess cancers occurring among PLHIV, increased with age for some NADCs [non-AIDS-defining cancers].” The development of effective and safe antiretroviral therapy means that most PLHIV can now expect to live well into older age. The diseases of aging–including certain cancers–are now an important cause of serious illness and death for PLHIV. Investigators wanted to measure cancer risk of HIV-positive people aged 50 and up. Both AIDS-defining (Kaposi’s sarcoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, cervical) and non-AIDS-defining (anal, lung, liver, oral/throat, breast, prostate and colon) cancers were included. The researchers compared cancer incidence rates between PLHIV and the general population by calculating standardised incidence ratios (SIRs), a measure of relative risk that takes into account the relative distributions in the population of people of differing ages. Cancer risks were calculated according to age (50 and up),

AIDS diagnosis, and time since HIV diagnosis. The study population consisted of 183,542 people enrolled in the HIV/AIDS Cancer Match study. These people received care between the introduction of effective HIV treatment in 1996 and 2012. During this time, there were 10,371 cancer diagnoses, of which 16 percent were AIDS-related and 84 percent non-AIDS-related. The relative risks for almost all cancers were highest for the youngest people and decreased with age. If aging led to a higher risk of cancer in PLHIV compared to the general population, the reverse would be true. The absolute risk for all three AIDS-defining cancers and Hodgkin lymphoma also decreased with age. However, the absolute risk increased with age for cancers of the anus, lung, liver and mouth/throat. A previous AIDS diagnosis was associated with an increased risk of the two main AIDS-defining cancers, Kaposi’s sarcoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. In contrast, there was some indication of risk increasing with time since HIV diagnosis for anal and liver cancers, though the trends were of borderline significance. “There is continued need for cancer prevention and early detection among older PLHIV,” the researchers said. “Cancer risk was…highest within the first 5 years after HIV diagnosis for most cancers, underscoring the importance of early HIV diagnosis, rapid initiation of HAART after HIV diagnosis, and interventions to reduce traditional risk factors in older people.” 5 Reprinted via NAM Aidsmap. View original article at www. aidsmap.com/Risk-of-some-non-AIDS-cancers-greater-for-people-with-HIV-than-others-over-50/page/3212505/

P5SITIVE LIVING | 5 | MARCH •• APRIL 2018

Volunteer with

Positive Living BC! Be part of something inspiring and join our enthusiastic volunteer team. Your contribution will support people living with HIV. Our members are working towards a healthy future with HIV!

For more info contact us at 604.893.2298 marcs@positivelivingbc.org www.positivelivingbc.org

đ&#x;&#x201C;ą đ&#x;&#x201D;ż î?ś

How to train your taste buds By Karen Giesbrecht

hen any of us experience stress or feel depleted— whether it be from a busy season at work, the loss of someone we care about, a life transition, or a new health challenge such as an HIV diagnosis—we all need support and solace. Food can provide immediate comfort, which can be either healthy or unhealthy, depending on how we use it. But there is one recommendation that is the same for everyone—we need to train our taste buds to prefer healthy food. The basics of healthy eating and self-care are the same for everyone. Choose more fresh, whole foods, fewer pre-packaged items, keep a regular rhythm of meals and snacks, and stop eating when you feel satisfied for better nutrition. Self-care requires some physical activity, staying hydrated, resting when needed, building supportive social connections, and listening to your emotions. PLHIV may have some unique nutrition needs, such as an increased risk of: food-borne illnesses (food poisoning), and thus need to be careful of higher-risk foods such as unpasteurized cheese, or undercooked eggs, meat, and seafood (oysters, sushi or sashimi); nausea, in which case peppermint or ginger tea can be soothing; loss of appetite and weight loss, thus requiring frequent, small and nutrient-dense snacks; and mouth sores, in which case limiting spicy, acidic, and citrus foods as well as extremely hot, cold, or crunchy foods to reduce irritation. When we feel tired or worn out, we will reach for what is familiar, easy, and comforting. If we are in the habit of potato chips, doughnuts, and sweet coffee, then that is what we will want on a hard day. If

we train our taste buds (and our brains) to crave healthier food, that is what we will reach for when stressed, and we will feel better for it. So how do we change our preferred comfort foods? Make changes slowly. Cut down the sugar you add to coffee or the salt you sprinkle on your food by a quarter, and give yourself a few weeks to get used to that. Then cut it down again, and again, over the course of a few months. You may find that you prefer the taste of your food without added flavouring. Try new foods at the start of a meal. As we get full, especially if we fill up on sweet foods, we are less open to savoury flavours. Try not go too long without eating—the hungrier we get, the harder it is to make good decisions. Practice mindful eating—take a moment to think about, or write down if that helps, how you feel after a balanced meal versus how you feel after a day of skipped meals or fast food. Or have an extra glass or two of water today and pay attention to your body. Does it make a difference to your mental and physical well-being? Our mood and overall health status impact how we manage our meals, and certain medications can affect how foods taste. Retraining your taste buds is a long process. Be patient with yourself—It is worth the effort. 5 Karen Giesbrecht is a dietitian with Planted: a community food network in Metro Vancouver.

P5SITIVE LIVING | 7 | MARCH •• APRIL 2018

wom n Positive affirmations for a new you in 2018

By Val Nicholson

isters, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s get together! Positive Gathering will be happening this March 30 to April 1. Join Viva Women on Friday March 30 for an afternoon session of engaging, interactive time. We will have the opportunity, time, and space to talk about women-specific issues and to foster our community. Your voices are needed! We will also be holding our annual Viva sister-to-sister meeting. All self-identifying positive women are welcome. This will be an empowering weekend to teach, learn, and network with old and new friends alike. I do hope to see you all there. Until then, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s start the year with some positive energy. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Start the New Year with a clear and open mindâ&#x20AC;?, an Elder wrote.

Repeat đ&#x;&#x152;? affirmations silently to yourself three to five times, before moving onto the next affirmation. I did this, and added my own way of doing them. I said them out loud to myself in the mirror, and then I went to the beach and shouted them to the universeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;wow, what a feeling. I got all tingly with feelings of selfworth, freedom, and, most of all, love.5 Val Nicholson is a Peer Navigator at Positive Living Society of BC.

Try some or all of these affirmations. đ&#x;&#x152;? Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m starting the New Year with a clear mind and open heart

đ&#x;&#x152;? I am more powerful every day of the year

đ&#x;&#x152;? This year, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m ready to live life to the fullest

đ&#x;&#x152;? Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m ready to start the New Year full of love and success

đ&#x;&#x152;? This year, all my wishes come true

đ&#x;&#x152;? All my goals and plans for this year are achievable

đ&#x;&#x152;? I choose to be happy this year

đ&#x;&#x152;? My mission this year is to stay positive and strong

đ&#x;&#x152;? I choose to be kind to myself right now and throughout the year

đ&#x;&#x152;? This year, I am strong and healthy in mind, body, and spirit

đ&#x;&#x152;? I let go of all negativity and enter the New Year with positive thoughts

đ&#x;&#x152;? I start a new phase in my spiritual development today đ&#x;&#x152;? Today, I start loving myself more

đ&#x;&#x152;? I choose to be daring and try new things this year

đ&#x;&#x152;? I have done a good job so far with my life.

đ&#x;&#x152;? 2018 is the best year of my life

Fill your heart with joy and your life with the sound of laughter. Have fun.

P5SITIVE LIVING | 9 | MARCH â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘ APRIL 2018

Hope from Hell: A prisoner’s tale Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from a letter I received just after Christmas. For as long as I’ve held this role, the magazine has tried to get inside the lives of HIV-positive prisoners spread across BC’s correctional facilities. Bureaucracy aside, getting people to talk about their experiences can be a challenge. Darren has lived it rough and raw. He’s been chiseled and hardened by life but at fifty, he’s clean now, taking cooking courses, and leading recovery groups. Here’s his life’s tale.

t’s been a long, crazy prison life. I have served 25 years straight on it now. They say I could have been out years ago, but I was a follower into all the wrong things, doing dirty work. Well, I’ve retired from all of that garbage. Just before I got my D.O. (Dangerous Offender designation), I got HIV in Vancouver. I was hooked badly. Back in the late 80s, us men and women on the streets were desperate. We got very little welfare and it went to renting hotel rooms, or at least 80 percent of it anyway. For those with HIV, disability was double the money. Everyone I knew started infecting each other so they’d have more money for drugs. That’s all

By Darren Tobin

we cared about. We thought we weren’t going to live long anyway so who cared if we got HIV? All we cared about was the heroin. At that point, I thought I had seen it all, and a lot of what I’d seen, I didn’t like. But because I was so wired from dope, my emotions shut down. How could I care about what was best for me? I’d do anything for money to get dope. So I got a lot of court warrants for shop lifting, like about 60 in a row. So, I knew soon I had to serve time. I knew if that happened I’d die ‘cause I was so sick. So I did what I had done my whole life: I ran. I hopped a train across the Canada/US border and went down to San Francisco and Oakland, California. I lived there the same way I had lived in Vancouver. It was sad. I overdosed a lot. One day I began to miss Canada and my family. So, I hitched back to Canada. There was a problem at the border proving that I was a Canadian citizen, so I told the guards I was a wanted man by the Vancouver Police Department. That got me a free ride downtown into lock up. After being released on a promise to appear, I got out of Vancouver and headed east. From Calgary to Ottawa, I lived life the same as I had in Vancouver. I hated life and people; I couldn’t stand that I sat

P5SITIVE LIVING | 10 | MARCH •• APRIL 2018

on the street as people walked right over me without giving me a scrap of food to eat. But I was blaming the wrong people. I should have been blaming myself, but sadly, I had never worked at improving my lot. The drugs were ingrained so deeply that I failed myself, and everyone that I loved. Because of that I took a very special lady’s life away; she’s still alive, but because of me, I may as well say I did kill her. She had to deal with a nightmare all over my selfish need for greed mixed with hate and anger. I was mad at the world when I should have been mad with myself. I took it out on her; thank God, she never got HIV. I have been locked up for 25 years straight. When I was last in front of the parole board I said that for what I did in a drunken rage all those years ago, I deserved to be taken around the corner and have two bullets put in my head. I didn’t get parole that day, but it looks good for me in two years when I’m up again. Let me tell you why. I woke up. I saw what a sad waste I had been. I’ve been inside so long that my memory and my time is erasing itself. I am forgetting my early days when I first came in. But I remember all the Federal Institutes I’ve been in: Springhill and Dorchester (both Nova Scotia), Joyceville and Kingston (Ontario) are just a few of them. For 24 of those years inside I got 150 mg of morphine daily that I shot up. I’m not bragging, but I mean to be honest with how extreme I got during prison. At one point, things got so bad I was put in the suicidal cells. They thought I was that out of control! I took a needle from my rectum and fixed my dope right while I was on a camera. I pretended to use the toilet, pulled a blanket over me, and mixed my fix up in a plastic spoon. Just one of the tricks you can learn inside. There are all sorts of ways in prison to make money, but they’re all bad. And if things go wrong you could end up killed. But things are really changing in prisons now; Cons are out for themselves more. The solid code is going and is almost gone. My last overdose was on July 26 2016. I took some fentanyl and nearly died. Well, that was it for me. The doctors put me on Suboxone, a sublingual medication for opioid disorder treatment, and I’ve been sober ever since. I said a prayer after that fentanyl overdose. ‘Lord,’ I said, ‘ I am sick of this life.’ How can some people be so happy? I couldn’t figure it out. My head is screwed up from all the years inside. (PTSD caused from seeing killings and rapes.) So, my prayer continued, I can’t believe in you because I can’t see you. Show your self. Give me hope. Give me hope and I will give you faith, 100 percent. I’ll work my ass off to become a better man and I’ll give my story of Hope from Hell.

That was it. I went to sleep, but the next day, I happened to be in a good mood. I worked out in my cell; push-ups, dips, squats, jogging on the spot, arm curls. And I began reading my Bible. I didn’t notice any change for a few months but when I did, I was blown away. This feeling just came over me like no drug in this world. I cried, ‘thank you!’ I’ve not looked back since.



Everyone started infecting each other so they’d have more money for drugs. Who cared if we got HIV? 

I am taking culinary arts classes now, and loving it. I go to Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, sometimes I even chair. I’m doing the Twelve Steps and loving it. The meetings are my new social lifestyle. I love going to the meetings—joking, having coffee and meeting new friends. I tell folks, drugs didn’t do what took place in my life. I had decided to use drugs and booze, and then I did those bad things. Respectability. Honesty. Acceptance. These are some of the gifts money can’t buy. The Higher Power thing is all up to you. Mine just happens to be The Creator, Jesus Christ. Yours can be whatever you think is bigger than you. We have to realize we aren’t everything. There are some nice men in these prisons. Some in NA and AA are closer to me than brothers. Some staff, elders, even my parole officer has become a friend. The same people I fought with in life are now the ones I trust most. They are true friends who only want good for me. I never had true friends before. What a sad existence. But now I feel alive. These days I look forward seeing new comers come to NA and AA meetings. One of our steps says the new comer is the most important person in the room. We can only keep what we have by giving it away. Before I needed acceptance, I found it by hanging around gangs. Now I find it with my family and friends I don’t write well but I am a good speaker. (My Mi’ Kmaq name is Talk A Lot. Haha!) I have stories to share with young men and women. I’ll give them the truth without all the bullshit. 5 Darren Tobin will be up for parole in 2019.

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Cracking Canada’s criminal code Is the end near for the criminalization of HIV?

By Neil Self

here is a long history of advocacy and activism rooted in the HIV/AIDS movement: From the early struggles to survive via the development of and access to early treatments through to today’s fight against stigma and the ongoing criminalization of HIV non-disclosure. Positive Living BC has been at the forefront of these battles, including a remarkable chain of events that led to a Justice Canada report

on the “overly broad use of the criminal justice system” in HIV non-disclosure cases. This article focuses on the formation, creation, and work of the Canadian Coalition to Reform HIV Criminalization and culminated in the ‘End Unjust HIV Criminalization: Community Consensus Statement,’ the Federal Government’s Criminal Justice System’s Response to Non-Disclosure of HIV.

P5SITIVE LIVING | 13 | MARCH •• APRIL 2018

continued next page

Several factors contributed to the fight against HIV criminalization. Key among them was crucial leadership across the country via organizations like the HIV/AIDS Legal Network (Legal Network), PLBC, the Canadian Positive People’s Network (CPPN), HIV/AIDS Legal Clinic of Ontario (HALCO), the Ontario Working Group on Criminal Law + HIV Exposure (CLHE) and advocates across the country– including those with lived experience of being criminalized.



Science has confirmed that HIV-positive people on treatment with an undetectable viral load are not infectious. 

Another key has been the advance of science since the Canadian Supreme Court of Canada’s Mabior decision in 2012. Science has long since confirmed that HIV-positive people on effective treatment with an undetectable viral load are not sexually infectious to their partners. This ongoing scientific development has led to two important milestones: the Canadian Consensus Statement on HIV and its Transmission in the Context of Criminal Law (a groundbreaking 2014 statement by a bevy of Canadian academics, researchers, and physicians) and the U=U Campaign by the Prevention Access Campaign. While the leadership and the science set the pre-conditions to change, this would not have happened without a willing partner in the Government of Canada. Criminal change requires the attention of the Federal Government, as the Criminal Code of Canada is a Federal Act of Parliament. It was only when the former Conservative Government (with its ideological slant and anti-science policies) was replaced by the more progressive and pro-science Liberal Government that activists and organizations across the country had their “dance partner.” In the space of about 18 months, the Canadian Coalition to Reform HIV Criminalization (Coalition) has grown from concept to leading the fight against HIV Criminalization. The Coalition’s formation was spurred on by a group of Canadians who attended the second HIV is Not a Crime Training Academy in Alabama in

2016. Activists wanted to continue the momentum that they built up as a result of attending the Training Academy. The Legal Network, realizing the importance of capitalizing on this momentum took the lead and reached out to a group of HIV-positive people, activists, advocates, organizations, academics, lawyers and those had faced the brunt of HIV non-disclosure, and proposed the Coalition to its community partners. What resulted was the groundwork for the coalition. That was followed, thanks to the financial support of the Legal Network, by a face-to-face meeting of willing coalition members in October of 2016. The two-day meeting had a packed agenda that included building a common understanding of HIV criminalization laws, strengthening capacity, and starting to consider all opportunities available to address the issue. Once the framework was in place, the real work began. There is no doubt that the formation of the Coalition contributed to Federal Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould’s groundbreaking announcement that Justice Canada would review the current “overly broad use of the Criminal Justice System in HIV non-disclosure” on World AIDS Day in 2016. With the government’s announcement serving as a back-drop, the working group on Federal Engagement kicked off the process of putting together a “think tank” of experts in criminal law, feminist law, criminal defense law, and criminalization activists.



Criminal change requires the attention of the Federal Government, as the Criminal Code of Canada is a Federal Act of Parliament. 

The Supporting Survivors working group focused on how to support people who have survived or are currently surviving the HIV criminalization process. The Coalition was informed of any new and active prosecutions in Canada and how to connect them with counsel as well as further supports in the preparation of their cases. This working group, along with members of the think tank discussed the chance of removing survivors from the Sexual Offenders Registry—should criminal law be

P5SITIVE LIVING | 14 | MARCH •• APRIL 2018

reformed. Lastly, they discussed of establishing a Legal Defense Fund for those charged in Canada. The Coalition set out to develop a community or civil-society version of the largely medicalized statement released in 2014. The development and promotion of this statement was meant to address several important areas in the fight against HIV criminalization. First, it brought together the current information, research, and think tank results to provide a comprehensive framework to the development of the community consensus statement. Second, it provided for the development of a high-profile communications tool to rally and support the HIV-positive community, its supporters, allies and organizations. Lastly, it was to allow the community to take ownership and control of the community consensus statement. This was done through a series of community engagements throughout 2017. There was an online questionnaire (that reached over 200 individuals from across the country) as well as focus groups across Canada. The resulting raw data collected from the consultations and questionnaire was compiled into a final report.



The Coalition set out to develop a community or civil-society version of the largely medicalized statement released in 2014.

The first question read, in part, ‘In a situation where someone living with HIV doesn’t disclose their status to a sexual partner, is there a role for society to intervene? If so, what are the specific circumstances where intervention might be justified? … Are there situations that should clearly be excluded from prosecution?’ Most respondents stated that the role of criminal law in cases of HIV non-disclosure should be limited with many suggesting that any interventions should require proof of intent. There were some circumstances where respondents felt the use of criminal law should not be used – including in cases where low risk situations occurred, when people did not know of their HIV status or lacked an understanding of HIV infection transmission. They also believed that in cases of forced

sex, coercion, feared violence due to disclosing their HIV status – criminal law should not be used. A small minority of respondents stated that criminalization is a useful tool to hold PLHIV accountable. Another question asked, ‘Is it appropriate to prosecute non-disclosure of HIV positive status to a sexual partner as “sexual assault”?’ The majority of respondents stated that it is not right to prosecute non-disclosure of HIV-positive status to a sexual partner as “sexual assault.” Many noted that the concept of “sexual assault” is associated with violence and coercive sex, where one of the partners did not consent to the sexual interaction. A minority stated that sexual assault is appropriate because consent to sexual activity should be considered invalid where there was deception about a partner’s HIV-positive status. The questionnaire finally asked respondents thought about having a specific offence on HIV non-disclosure in the Criminal Code. A host of views were expressed in response to this question. Some favoured an HIV-specific law as an aggressive means of excluding vulnerable individuals from prosecution and constraining the circumstances under which someone might be prosecuted. Others expressed concern about the stigmatizing effect of an HIV-specific law and the use (or misuse) of such a law. Many were concerned about how such a law might be used to target specific communities and exacerbate the disproportionate criminalization of Black and Indigenous Peoples. Many more opposed an HIV-specific law as being incompatible with the objective of completely decriminalizing HIV. Some were undecided and found it difficult to imagine the application of such a law and its impact on PLHIV. The majority of respondents supported the statement. The feedback mirrored the comments received in the questions above. A preliminary copy of a draft Community Consensus Statement was provided to the Federal-Territorial-Provincial meetings of the Attorneys General in September 2017. Minister Wilson-Raybould issued a long-awaited report on the “overly broad criminalization of HIV non-disclosure” in Canada on World AIDS Day in 2017. For the most part, the forty-four page report offers up a thorough summary of the current criminalization

P5SITIVE LIVING | 15 | MARCH •• APRIL 2018

situation. In the final part of the report eleven key points were raised and seven conclusions were drawn. For brevity, here are few of those points. Health and medical efforts in Canada have resulted in a majority of persons with HIV in Canada to be aware of their status and are receiving appropriate treatment. It can no longer be assumed that an HIV-positive individual is at risk of transmitting it. Sexual activity, regardless of condom use, with an HIV-positive person who is taking prescribed HIV treatment and maintains a suppressed viral load poses NEGLIBLE risk of transmission. Criminal law applies to HIV-positive people who fail to disclose or misrepresent their HIV status prior to sexual activity that poses a realistic possibility of transmission. The most recent medical science on HIV transmission is determinative of whether or not this legal test is met.



The report also acknowledges that the use of criminal law is a blunt instrument and should only be used as a last resort. 

The report lists many conclusions, but the most pivotal of them says criminal law should NOT apply to PLHIV who have engaged in sexual activity without disclosing their status if they maintained a suppressed viral load because the realistic possibility of transmission test has NOT been met. A person living with HIV who takes their treatment as prescribed is acting responsibly. The Federal Justice Department has recognized what medical science has known for years: PLHIV who are on treatment and virally suppressed should not be criminally charged. Or to quote U=U , people who are undetectable are untransmittable. The Justice Department acknowledges what Positive Living BC and other organizations have been promoting for years, that the non-disclosure of HIV status is first and foremost a public health issue, and public health officials are best equipped to handle such cases. Furthermore, the report also acknowledges that the use

of criminal law is a blunt instrument and should only be used as a last resort. Application of criminal law to HIV non-disclosure will disproportionately affect Indigenous, gay, and black communities, and that the use of sexual assault law is problematic. There are several concerns to the report, however. This is a Federal report without any legislative ability. This report does change the Criminal Code of Canada; but although there have been cases where Federal Justice reports that have universally been adopted by the Provinces (domestic assault), Ottawa is littered with final reports that have not been followed through on by either the Federal Government or their Provincial counterparts. And though the report does recommend that Provinces develop prosecutorial guidelines around this issue, the Federal Government can’t require Provinces to do so. What the Federal Government can do is develop their own prosecutorial guidelines (for the Territories and other Federal areas of jurisdiction) and model the process and standard. To that end, Positive Living BC, the Canadian Coalition to Reform HIV Criminalization, the HIV/ AIDS Legal Network and others will be working with our coalition members across Canada to ensure that fair and just prosecutorial guidelines are developed in every Province and Territory. We will continue to push the Federal Government for reforms in the area of HIV non-disclosure. 5

Neil Self is Chair of the Positive Living Society of BC.

P5SITIVE LIVING | 16 | MARCH •• APRIL 2018

Giving Well a friend brought me to Positive Living BC. They were fundraising for the Community Health Fund (CHF) and I thought, “If I am going to use the CHF maybe I should give back”.

Joel Nim Cho Leung

a non-profit organization, Positive Living BC’s ability to offer life changing programs and services to our members is directly linked to the success of our fundraising. For this month’s column, Giving Well sits down one of our top preforming AIDS Walk fundraisers, Joel Leung. Joel raised over $3000.00 for the AIDS Walk last year; here, he tells us about why the AIDS Walk is important to him, how he got involved, and what the secret to his fundraising success is. Q. How did you first become involved with the AIDS Walk? I participated in my first AIDS Walk in 1998 after I was diagnosed. Since then, I have participated in the walk almost every year. I was diagnosed HIV-positive in 1997 and

Q: You’ve been one of The Walk’s strongest fundraisers in recent years. What’s the secret to your success? I have lots of friends that I am not scared of asking to support me in The Walk. I keep a calendar to remind me when to ask them to support me, and I don’t take no for an answer! As soon as it is possible to start collecting pledges, I ask my big donors. Then I will usually give them a couple weeks to respond before I start bugging them again. Q: How has The Walk changed over the years from your point of view? The Walk used to be held in different locations and included different entertainment, but the biggest change I’ve noticed is we don’t have as many people coming out for The Walk as we used to. Q: Do you set a fundraising goal for yourself when you sign up to do The Walk? Yes, I do. It helps me to stay motived. This year my goal was $5000.00 Q: During the event, what thoughts are going through your mind as you are participating in The Walk? Mostly, I am thinking about all my friends and members who have passed away over P5SITIVE LIVING | 18 | MARCH •• APRIL 2018

A DONOR PROFILE By Jason Hjalmarson

the years. All the past members or walkers who I knew who passed away. Also, I think about all the people who have been helped by Positive Living BC, and how the agency has changed over time. We need to work hard to raise more money, promote the organization, and fight government cutbacks. Q: Out of all the programs and services that we offer at Positive Living BC, is there one that is most important to you? The free health services, like massage, acupuncture, reiki and yoga. I’ve really enjoyed being able to access these things, as they would be too expensive for me otherwise. I also appreciate the CHF, which is what the proceeds of the AIDS Walk go to. The CHF helps me pay for vitamins and essential oils or other health products that help me to feel better. A lot of the stuff you need to manage living with HIV isn’t covered by the government, so the CHF is a big help every month. Q: Will we see you at the next Walk? To help promote the important work the Positive Living BC does to help people living with HIV and to raise money for the CHF, absolutely I will be there. 5 Jason Hjalmarson is director of fund development at Positive Living BC.

Your Full Potential

Medicine alone won’t end AIDS

By Kim C. Yates

hen I was 15 , the best friend of one my cousins died suddenly. My distraught cousin asked me to go to the funeral with her. No one else would go with her. No one would discuss how or why her friend died so young, only 25. He was gay. This was Trinidad & Tobago in 1988, the early days of the AIDS epidemic there. I live in Toronto now, and I‘ve been working in the HIV field for over a decade. A friend of mine and his partner just celebrated 30 years together, and he was not shy to publicly say that for 25 of those years he has lived with HIV. Times have changed. Bold visions like “the end of AIDS by 2030,” advanced by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), have dominated global and national discussions about HIV/ AIDS, driving policy decisions and shaping the choices of leading funders. Imagining the end of the pandemic is an admirable, inspiring goal that fits with our collective ideals of progress and scientific advancement, and builds on medical breakthroughs in diagnosis and treatment. But there is still more to be done. Increasingly, PLHIV around the world, frontline workers, and other experts have warned that a purely medical approach is not enough to solve the complexities of the HIV crisis. Their lived experience and knowledge of the social dimensions of the disease tell them that the solutions are not simple. True solutions to the crisis must address the barriers that PLHIV face every day. A true realization of living fully with HIV demands a robust approach to be effective. Living with HIV can cause health challenges whereby periods of relative health may be interrupted by periods of illness, with little predictability as to when this

will occur or for how long. Thus, for some, HIV is a chronic and episodic illness, leading to sporadic disability. In our work at Realize, we recognize that the language used to describe the health and health-related challenges that PLHIV experience is contextual and may vary depending on the clinical, social, or political context in which it is used. (For example, in the context of employment insurance, disability may be defined in relation to a person’s ability to work, while in the context of health care, disability may be defined as a person’s physical ability to carry out a life-related task or daily activity.) Our focus and catalytic role on strategic issues of HIV and aging, access to rehabilitation supports, labour force participation, income support and mental health have never been more important. These are cornerstones in people’s ability to lead full and active lives. We are thrilled to partner with Positive Living to run this new series. While adherence to medication underpins your good health, you can’t realize your full potential without paying attention to housing needs, employment, income security and mental wellness. In 2018, we will dive deeper into these issues. When I am 57 in 2030, I hope that I will have lived to see the achievement of the global goal to end AIDS. 5

Kim C. Yates is the executive director of Toronto-based Realize, formerly known as CWGHR.

P5SITIVE LIVING | 20 | MARCH •• APRIL 2018

Wild times in Wilson Creek

By Lorenzo Cryer

ife on the Sunshine Coast is a gardener’s joy, but full of unexpected drama. I am proud daddy to Sandy, a four-month old Anatolian Shepherd. A Turkish breed, these dogs were sent out with the flocks to protect them as they roamed the hillsides, taking on the local wolves that would happily make a meal out of a sheep or goat. The Anatolian Shepherd will protect most farm livestock. We may have chickens or goats at the farm here in Wilson Creek, so Sandy’s services will come in handy as she matures. Here at the house wildlife comes through the yard regularly. One recent morning, I let Sandy out, as I do each morning. As I turned back to the house, I saw this streak blitz by me and hit the veggie garden fencing. It was a young cougar kitten. Instantly I thought, a kitten means mom is not far away. Sandy began yelping for life. I turned to see the mother cougar had pinned Sandy down. I grabbed a baseball bat I keep at the door and lunged at the cougar, screaming, “let go of my dog.” (I was still in my robe and hadn’t had any coffee.) The cougar backed off, and for a brief second, Mama and I held a tense gaze. The cougars retreated into the scrub and Sandy scrambled into the house. I followed the blood drops. Sandy’s wounds were, thankfully, superficial. This breed has a very thick coat. Her injuries have healed well, but the memory has stuck with her. She now takes time to smell the air and look around before she ventures out. A few days after the ordeal, I found a deer carcass not far from the house. This sure isn’t city life. At the farm, I have cleaned out the greenhouse. It’s equipped with grow lights and heating pads so that we can get the vegetable seeds started mid-February. I hope to start sowing seeds and trans-

planting some seedlings by mid- to late March. They will go into the handsome cedar boxes that were built last fall. Eighteen in total, with an average size of 14 by six feet and two feet high, the boxes are in a grid pattern, and will make tending and harvesting a snap. The boxes take up a bit less than one half of our caged garden. We will grow cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes in the hoop house. These crops benefit from a more consistent heat. The harvest should prove bountiful. On the other side of the vegetable garden are all the berries. The blueberries were originally in shallow single rows. We lifted them all and created two long beds. The level was raised to two feet. Once planted the beds were mulched with hay. Hay is different to straw. Straw is simply the hollow stem. I remember it with ‘straw is what they sleep on, hay is what they eat’. This will keep the soil warmer, allowing for good root growth. The earthworms will naturally compost the hay while they aerate the soil and leave behind their goodness. We did the same with the strawberries, but built up two long mounded rows. Here we replanted 100 plants. There are raspberries, goji berries, red and black currants, and loganberries as well in this amazing space. Barring any more cougar visits, it’s going to be a gorgeous and sumptuous spring here. Happy planting! 5 Lorenzo Cryer is the owner of Dig Dug Done, a garden design business.

P5SITIVE LIVING | 21 | MARCH •• APRIL 2018

CTNPT 031: seeking a functional cure By Sean Sinden

The

search for a functional cure is the subject of a new CTN pilot study, which began in late 2017. The goal of CTNPT 031 is to find a treatment that would allow PLHIV to stop taking their anti-retroviral therapy (ARV) without experiencing viral rebound or progressive infection. A functional cure would be a significant step towards the elimination of HIV if it reduced transmission risk the way ARV does. Though it would not destroy or remove HIV fully, it would prevent the consequences of the virus. This study will test the safety and efficacy of a possible functional cure in the form of a licensed medication currently used to treat inflammatory bowel disease. The medication, called anti-a4b7-integrin monoclonal antibody (mAb), may work by preventing a specific type of immune cell from entering into the tissue of the gut—a type of immune cell often targeted by HIV. In a 2016 study, mAb was shown to maintain low viral loads and normal CD4 count in monkeys with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) who were previously on stable ARV after initial infection. Participants in this trial will receive mAb at one of three doses. Each participant will get seven infusions over six months. Following the third infusion of the study drug, participants will stop their ARV and visit a physician monthly for monitoring. If a significant or persistent viral rebound occurs, or if CD4 count falls too low, participants will be reinitiated on ARV. After completion of all infusions, participants will be monitored for the last six months of the study and beyond, depending on their response to mAb. This pilot will enroll a small number of participants and will monitor the safety and tolerability of mAb. This includes if and for how long the drug can prevent a significant increase, or allow an eventual suppression of viral load without the use of ARV. If viral rebound occurs, the study team is also interested in how the immune system responds and whether the effectiveness of ARV retreatment is modified by mAb. The results will be important, regardless of the treatment’s effect; but a positive result may lead the way for a larger clinical trial and represent a huge step towards the design of a functional cure.

This study is co-led by CTN Investigators Drs. Michaeline McGuinty and Bill Cameron, in conjunction with the Canadian HIV Cure Enterprise, and is now enrolling participants in Ottawa. 5 Sean Sinden is the Communications & Knowledge Translation Officer for the CTN.

Other Studies enrolling in BC CTNPT 014

Kaletra/Celsentri combination therapy for HIV in the setting of HCV BC sites: Vancouver Infectious Diseases Centre, Vancouver; Cool AID Community Clinic, Victoria

CTN 222

Canadian co-infection cohort BC site: St. Paul’s

CTN 262

Canadian HIV Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Cohort Study (CHIWOS) BC Coordinator: Rebecca Gormley, 604.558.6686 or rgormley@cfent.ubc.ca

CTN 281

EPIC 4 Study BC site: BC Women’s Hospital and Health Centre

CTN 283

The I-Score Study BC site: Vancouver ID clinic

CTN 292A

Development of a screening algorithm for predicting high-grade anal dysplasia in HIV+ MSM BC site: St. Paul’s

CTN 292B

Treatment of high-grade anal dysplasia in HIV+ MSM BC site: St. Paul’s

Visit the CIHR Canadian HIV Trials Network database at www.hivnet.ubc.ca for more info.

P5SITIVE LIVING | 23 | MARCH •• APRIL 2018

In grateful recognition of the monthly donors supporting Positive Living BC For a full list of donors visit positivelivingbc.org

$5000+ LEGACY CIRCLE

Gerald Leclair Hu-Friedy Mfg. Co. LLC Theatre Cares Vancouver ViiV Healthcare ULC Wildlife Thrift Store

$1000 - $2499 CHAMPIONS Janice Lam Peter Chung

$500 - $999 LEADERS

Bramwell Tovey Capital Salvage Co. Ltd. Judith Garay Kevin McNish Paul Goyan PEA-HESU Chapter Tim Stevenson Wilson Durward

$150 - $499 HEROES

Blair Smith Bonnie Pearson Bonnie Poole Brent S. Bondarenko Brian Anderson Bruce Grant Carol Molley Christian M. Denarie Christopher Koene Circle of Life Group Cliff Hall Colin Macdonald Colleen Carline Craig T. Wilson Daryl Kochan

Dean Mirau Don Evans Dona Harvey Doug Clavelle E. Paul P. Beagan Emet G. Davis Erik Carlson Frank J. Stephan Fraser Norrie Gerry Kasten Gina Best Glyn A. Townson Glynis Davisson Gretchen Dulmage Harold B. Brown Harvey Strydhorst Jackie Yiu James Goodman James Ong Jean Sebastian Hartell John Bishop Judith Cotter Karl Eberle Katherine M. Richmond Keith A. Stead Ken Coolen Kenneth Whitehead Lawrence Cryer Len Christiansen Leslie Rae Margaret Warbrick Marilyn Ludwig Mark Mees Mary C. Burpee Matthew Hinton Maxine Davis Mike Holmwood Mike McKimm Owen McCooey Pam Johnson Patricia Hepplewhite Patrick Carr

Paul Gross Pierre Soucy Pierre Soucy Ralph E. Trumpour Ralph Silvea Rebecca Johnston Rhombic Consulting Group Inc. Robert Capar Robert Capar Robert Selley Ronald G. Stipp Ross Thompson Sergio Pereira Silvia Guillemi Stan Moore Stan Moore Stephen Caldwell Thomas Fowle Tiko Kerr Vince Connors William Granger William Langlois Wilma Kingston

$20 - $149 FRIENDS

Adrienne Wong Andrea Reimer Barry DeVito Carmine Digiovanni Charles L. Zeterberg Chris Kean D. Richard King Dean Mirau Douglas D. Davison Edith Davidson Elizabeth Briemberg Frank Levin Glyn A. Townson Harold W. Gillette Heather Inglis James Goodman

P5SITIVE LIVING | 24 | MARCH •• APRIL 2018

Jamie Dolinko Jane Talbot Jeff Anderson Joel N. Leung John Yano Kate McMeiken Kathleen Gammer Linda Lind Lindsay Mearns Lisa Raichle Lorena Baran Lorne C. Christensen Margaret A. Wyness Margaret Harriman Miranda Leffler Mohammad Aswad Patricia Dyck Patricia E. Young Patricia McClain Penny Parry Rob Spooner Robert Mulvin Ron J. Hogan Se-Mi Oh Stephanie Tofield Stephen French Stephen Ockwell Susan C. Burgess Sylvie Mazerolle Tobias Donaldson Tracey L. Hearst Wayne Avery Zoran Stjepanovic

To make a contribution to Positive Living BC, contact the director of development, Jason Hjalmarson.  jhjalmarson@positivelivingbc.org  604.893.2282

PROFILE OF A VOLUNTEER Kim is Photo Archivist for our History Alive Project, where she transfers thousands of photos (from 30 years ago) from the original physical copy to a digital version. She is proficient and professional. We are lucky to have her and we hope she can stay with us for a while to come. Thank you Kim, you are a Superstar! Shafiyah Khan, Communications

*KIM ABELLA*

What is your volunteer history in general in community? I began volunteering in high school at my local community centre and for the Canucks Autism Network. I was as an outreach volunteer at the AMS Sexual Assault Support Centre. Why did you pick Positive Living BC? I saw a posting online, and due to my interest in photography, and my studies at UBC (Sociology and Social Justice), it was a perfect match.

How would you rate Positive Living BC? This is an exceptional organization with dedicated members and staff who put their heart into the services. I am honoured to have the opportunity to contribute to this community. What do you see in the future at and /or for Positive Living BC? I hope to be able to continue dedicating my time here in the future, and I look forward to seeing the evolution of the society as time progresses. The change and creation of history is what draws me to the History Alive project—to document these events and accredit Positive Living for the footprints that it makes.

P5SITIVE LIVING | 25 | MARCH •• APRIL 2018

Where to find

HELP

If you’re looking for help of information on HIV/AIDS, the following list is a starting point. For more comprehensive listings of HIV/AIDS organizations and services, please visit www.positivelivingbc.org/links

bA LOVING SPOONFUL

1449 Powell St, Vancouver, BC V5L 1G8  604.682.6325  clients@alovingspoonful.org  lovingspoonful.org

cAIDS SOCIETY OF KAMLOOPS

(ASK WELLNESS CENTRE) 433 Tranquille Road Kamloops, BC V2B 3G9  250.376.7585 or 1.800.661.7541  info@askwellness.ca  askwellness.ca

bAIDS VANCOUVER

1101 Seymour St Vancouver, BC V6B 0R1  604.893.2201  contact@aidsvancouver.org  aidsvancouver.org

bAIDS VANCOUVER ISLAND (Victoria)

713 Johnson Street, 3rd Floor Victoria, BC V8W 1M8  250.384.2366 or 1.800.665.2437  info@avi.org  avi.org

bAIDS VANCOUVER ISLAND (Courtenay)  250.338.7400 or 1.877.311.7400  info@avi.org  avi.org/courtenay

bAIDS VANCOUVER ISLAND (Nanaimo)  250.753.2437 or 1.888.530.2437

 info@avi.org  avi.org/nanaimo

bAIDS VANCOUVER ISLAND (Port Hardy)  250.902.2238  info@avi.org  avi.org/porthardy

bANKORS (EAST)

46 - 17th Avenue South Cranbrook, BC V1C 5A8  250.426.3383 or 1.800.421.AIDS  gary@ankors.bc.ca  ankors.bc.ca

bANKORS (WEST)

101 Baker Street Nelson, BC V1L 4H1

 250.505.5506 or 1.800.421.AIDS  information@ankors.bc.ca  ankors.bc.ca

bDR. PETER CENTRE

1110 Comox Street Vancouver, BC V6E 1K5  604.608.1874  info@drpetercentre.ca  drpetercentre.ca

bLIVING POSITIVE

RESOURCE CENTRE OKANAGAN 168 Asher Road Kelowna, BC V1X 3H6  778.753.5830 or 1.800.616.2437  info@lprc.ca  livingpositive.ca

bMCLAREN HOUSING

200-649 Helmcken Street Vancouver, BC V6B 5R1  604.669.4090  info@mclarenhousing.com  mclarenhousing.com

bOKANAGAN ABORIGINAL AIDS SOCIETY 200-3717 Old Okanagan Way Westbank, BC V4T 2H9  778.754.5595  info@oaas.ca  oaas.ca

bPOSITIVE LIVING

FRASER VALLEY SOCIETY Unit 1 – 2712 Clearbrook Road Abbotsford, BC V2T 2Z1  604.854.1101  info@plfv.org  plfv.org

bPOSITIVE LIVING NORTH

#1 - 1563 Second Avenue Prince George, BC V2L 3B8  250.562.1172 or 1.888.438.2437  positivelivingnorth.org

bPOSITIVE LIVING NORTH WEST

3862F Broadway Avenue Smithers, BC V0J 2N0  250.877.0042 or 1.866.877.0042  plnw.org P5SITIVE LIVING | 26 | MARCH •• APRIL 2018

bPURPOSE SOCIETY FOR YOUTH & FAMILIES 40 Begbie Street New Westminster, BC V3M 3L9  604.526.2522  info@purposesociety.org  purposesociety.org

bREL8 OKANAGAN

P.O. Box 20224, Kelowna BC V1Y 9H2  250-575-4001  rel8.okanagan@gmail.com  www.rel8okanagan.com

bRED ROAD HIV/AIDS NETWORK

61-1959 Marine Drive North Vancouver, BC V7P 3G1  778.340.3388  info@red-road.org  red-road.org

bVANCOUVER NATIVE HEALTH SOCIETY 449 East Hastings Street Vancouver, BC V6A 1P5  604.254.9949  vnhs@shawbiz.ca  vnhs.net

bVANCOUVER ISLAND PERSONS

LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS SOCIETY 1139 Yates Street Victoria, BC V8V 3N2  250.382.7927 or 1.877.382.7927  support@vpwas.com  vpwas.com

bWINGS HOUSING SOCIETY 12–1041 Comox Street Vancouver, BC V6E 1K1  604.899.5405  wingshousing@shaw.ca  wingshousing.org

bYOUTHCO

205–568 Seymour Street Vancouver, BC V6B 3J5  604.688 1441 or 1.855.968.8426  info@youthco.org  youthco.org

POSITIVE LIVING BC SOCIETY BUSINESS UPCOMING BOARD MEETINGS 2018

JOIN A SOCIETY COMMITTEE!

EVERY 2ND WEDNESDAY | 2 pm | 2nd Floor Meeting Room

If you are a member of the Positive Living Society of BC, you can join a committee and help make important decisions for the Society and its programs and services. To become a voting member on a committee, you will need attend three consecutive committee meetings. Here is a list of some committees. For more committees visit positivelivingbc.org, and click on “Get Involved” and “Volunteer”.

Reports to be presented >> February 21 Standing Committees | Financial Statements - November | Membership Statistics | Events Attended

March 7 Reports to be presented >>

Written Executive Director Report | Executive Committee | External Committee Reports | Director of Programs & Services | Events Attended

Board & Volunteer Development_ Marc Seguin

March 21

Education & Communications_ Adam Reibin

Reports to be presented >> Executive Committee | Financial Statements – December | Events Attended

April 4

 604.893.2298  604.893.2209

 marcs@positivelivingbc.org  adamr@positivelivingbc.org

History Alive!_ Adam Reibin  604.893.2298

 adamr@positivelivingbc.org

Reports to be presented >> Written Executive Director Report | Standing Committees | Director of HR | Events Attended

Positive Action Committee_ Ross Harvey

April 18

Positive Living Magazine_Jason Motz

 604.893.2252

 604.893.2206

 rossh@positivelivingbc.org  jasonm@positivelivingbc.org

ViVA (women living with HIV)_Charlene Anderson  604.893.2217

 charlenea@positivelivingbc.org

Positive Living BC is located at 1101 Seymour St, Vancouver, V6B 0R1. For more information, contact: Alexandra Regier, director of operations  604.893.2292 |  alexr@positivelivingbc.org

Name________________________________________ Address __________________ City_____________________ Prov/State _____ Postal/Zip Code________ Country______________ Phone ________________ E-mail_______________________ I have enclosed my cheque of $______ for Positive Living m $25 in Canada m $50 (CND $) International Please send ______ subscription(s)

m BC ASOs & Healthcare providers by donation: Minimum $6 per annual subscription. Please send ____ subscription(s) m Please send Positive Living BC Membership form (membership includes free subscription) m Enclosed is my donation of $______ for Positive Living * Annual subscription includes 6 issues. Cheque payable to Positive Living BC.

P5SITIVE LIVING | 27 | MARCH •• APRIL 2018

Last Blast Dating in the Grindr era By Andrew Ehman

2004, my husband died of a massive heart attack five days before his forty-second birthday. I was instantly cast into the depths of Hell for what seemed like eternity. I was inconsolable— for me, the world had ended. In time, the grief began to dissipate. One day I saw a gaunt man in the mirror, a man whose eyes had no spark. My friends called it ‘Heroin Chic,’ a label that I refused to let define me. I had to pull myself out of Hell and rejoin the world. I gained back some of my weight and dipped my toes into the dating pool. I saw how the rules had changed in my absence, and that I was now (at forty-seven) a diseased dinosaur! Apps had altered the dating landscape with Grindr being king. I wasn’t looking for any particular type, just so long as there was chemistry. What I discovered was that most in the dating pool are looking for someone aged 18-29, with movie star looks, and junk that goes on for days (with a bank account to match). So that’s me out, and we haven’t even touched on HIV. I encountered a lot of ageism: ‘<26 only’ and ‘don’t be old enough to be my father.’ Men my own age think I am also too old for them. What is a middle-aged boy to do? I encountered the acronym DDF, or drug and disease free. I have a hard time with that one—not the drug issue, but the disease part. I am undetectable with no other STIs (you can’t get them if you don’t have sex!), so I consider myself disease-free—and, scientifically speaking, I am. I grew despondent and gave up initiating contact. I would just window shop and see if anyone contacted me, and they did—usually in what I refer to as the ‘drunk hour.’ You know, that blurry time between last call and when people just pass out—how flattering. After the intros, we’d get down to the nitty-gritty: Me: ‘Just so you know, I’m undetectable.’ Him: ‘Okay, can we meet at your place?’ (I’m thinking—yeah, light at the end of the tunnel. But I should clarify.) Me: ‘So you understand the undetectable part?’ Him: ‘No, do you live alone?’ (So the light was just the headlamp of the freight train

bearing down on me). I explain. He either takes a pass or goes silent and blocks me. How sweet. What would it be like if we acted in real life the way we do on Grindr? Many of us would be walking around with black bags over our heads. Some of them would be holding their wife’s hand. A guy with a bag on would walk over to me and say, ‘Hey.’ I would ask him to remove the bag. Some would, others would walk away, and a few would just whip out their junk. Then there are the ignorers—they would just walk right past me, looking through me as if I wasn’t there. And that guy that just won’t leave me alone? Every time I’m on Grindr, he sends me a junk pic. In real life, that’s the equivalent to following me around pants-less. And then there are the blockers: say or do something they don’t like, and you are blocked. In real life, that would be like having a conversation with a guy and he walks away mid-sentence. I can’t win. I still window shop, but it seems that my lipodystrophy, undetectable status, and age are the pallbearers at my dating funeral. 5 Andrew Ehman is a director of Positive Living BC and the chair of REL8 Okanagan.

P5SITIVE LIVING | 28 | MARCH •• APRIL 2018

POSITIVE

A CONFERENCE DEVELOPED FOR AND BY HIV+ PEOPLE IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

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