A Newsletter produced by the Health & WellnessCommittee for people living with HIV/AIDS

P o z

i t i v e n e w s

Volume 6, Issue 1

FALL 2009

AIDS New Brunswick’s―

Health and WellnessCommittee

‖ exists to promote

meaningful participation of persons living with HIV/ AIDS in New Brunswick, inpart, by providing input onprograms and policy development for AIDS New Brunswick but also todevelop opportunities andforums for dialogue, skills building and informationsharing. Over the last few years, the work of thisimportant committee haslacked a momentum andmotivation. The lastnewsletter was distributed in2007 and communications between the Committee andthe PHA community has beensporadic at best. This editionof

Pozitive News

is anattempt to renew interest inthe work of the Committee by cordially invitingmembers of the PLWHIV/ AIDS community in all partsof New Brunswick to comeforward and be part of theteam that works to improveand address the quality of lifeissues that we all face. We asa community need to takeownership of things thataffect us and be part of themovement that advocatesand lobbies for things thatare important. Themembership of the Health & Wellness Committee is madeup of women and men living with HIV/AIDS. Themembership selects amaximum of 10 members toform the Committee plus theCommunity Liaison staff member. These 10 memberschoose the Chair who becomes spokesperson forthe Committee. Thecommittee develops andimplements a yearly work plan of projects based oninformation provided by itsconstituents. In previous years, projects includedcreating a recipe book forPLWHIV/AIDS, Info-Access,and planning a Spring/FallRetreat/Forum. For moreinformation about the Health& Wellness Committee,please see the informationincluded as part of thisnewsletter and/or contactDiedre Smith, Liaison Officerat 1-800-561-4009 or 459-7518.

If you want things tochange, if you want tomake things happen, if you want to be part of the

solution, then it’s up to

you to act NOW

!Ted Gaudet, Interim Chair

Publication of this newsletter hasbeen made possible through a fi-nancial contribution from the Public Health Agency of Canada.The views expressed in this news-letter do not necessarily represent the views of the Public Health Agency of Canada.

By email:

Executive Director: Nick Scott

Email:sidaids@nb.aibn.com

Program Support Coordinator: Jennifer Dion

Email:aidsnbpsc@nb.aibn.com

PLWHIV/AIDS Liaison: Diedre Smith

Email: liaisonofficer@nb.aibn.com

Needle Exchange Program Coordinator: Michelle Gill

Email:volsidaids@nb.aibn.comBy Phone:

Office: (506) 459-7518Toll free: 1-800-561-4009

Reviving the Health & Wellness Committee and we need your help !

Staff Contact Info at AIDS New Brunswick

World AIDS Day Fair Trade Gift Basketraffle on now! Over $300 in prizes tokeep you warm this Winter. Get yourtickets ($2) today: for more informationcall 459-7518 or email info@aidsnb.com

A Summer Gathering for men and women living with HIV/AIDS took place on October 2-4, 2009 at Broadleaf Ranch in Harvey (near Alma, New Brunswick). This get-together was an opportunity for people living withHIV/AIDS in New Brunswick to re-connect, make new acquaintances and share their stories and socialize.Seven men, two women, special guest Stephen Alexander (formerly from NB now residing and working in Ot-tawa) and two staff members (Diedre and Jennifer) arrived on Friday evening and settled in their respective bunkhouses and in no time, darkness hit and it was time for a bonfire, hot chocolate, cookies fresh from theoven and lots of chatter. For some, it was an early night as they were tired from traveling while others burnedthe midnight oil.Saturday morning dawned bright with sunshine and the promise of a beautiful sunny day ahead. After ahearty breakfast, Stephen presented a new Canadian AIDS Society (CAS) resource: The GIPA (Greater In- volvement of People living with HIV/AIDS) Training Toolkit, entitled One Foot Forward. The toolkit, avail-able in French and English, contains 7 modules and is designed to help PLWHIV/AIDS develop basic skills to become more involved in their communities. The modules include topics on community-based groups, as-sessing your agency, leadership, boards and governance, resources and research, what about me, and, the lastmodule captures various issues under the title: Is that all there is? It is a very informative toolkit and a must-have for anyone interested in being involved in an organization or for self

‑

education. After lunch, some of the gang went into Alma to partake of their world famous sticky buns and in the course of that travel managed to rescue a stuffed pony set out as garbage by the side of the road. It was suggested that itmight be a mascot for our gatherings in the future but since we had our appointment for horse-back riding, we

deferred any decision to that evening’s bonfire time. The horseback riding was fun, we each had our own

horses, rode and sometimes galloped the trails, and none of the riders fell off their horses (which some of ussecretly hoped would happen). It was most enjoyable!Dinner was exceptionally delicious and soon it was time for the bonfire and deci-sions regarding our rescued and adopted friend. Everyone agreed that it could beour mascot on many fronts and since we could not determine its gender, we

would name it ―Roadie‖. Watch for Roadie’s coming out and debut at the next

event. The conversation around the bonfire was sometimes light, other times notso light but overall stimulating and interesting as we shared views, personal in-

formation, opinions and lots of teasing each other…..what good old

-fashioned

fun ! After all, we were on the ―Farm‖.

Although we rose on Sunday morning to rain, it did not stop us from enjoyingone of the most impressive brunches we have ever seen. Everything from oven-fresh baked goods, traditional breakfast foods, stir-fried veggies, a huge selectionof potato and pasta casseroles, and a plethora of desserts, and everything mouth- watering and delicious. What a treat! As we waddled back to our bunkhouses topack up, the general consensus from the group was that the weekend proved to be a very enjoyable time indeed. We look forward to the next one and making iteven more enjoyable !Remember, it will only happen if we make it happen !

PLWHIV/AIDSFALL GATHERING

OCTOBER 2-4, 2009

Volume 6, Issue 1

FALL

Ted Gaudet and the infamousRoadie, stayed tuned for futurenewsletters for Riding Rowdy Roadie adventures and in-sights.

Greetings, As the new Executive Director it is my pleasure to provide an introduction to this Newsletter;one of many more to come. The purpose of the Newsletter is to keep you informed of what ishappening at AIDS NB and in the PHA community. So we hope it is both informative anduseful, and serves as a catalyst for greater involvement of New Brunswickers in the AIDSMovement.The experience I have gained through starting a non-profit organization and academic re-search with other social movement organizations has taught me a lot about community organizing, their powerand the economic difficulties they often face. A common theme that you will notice about the work that I will bedoing with AIDS NB is capacity building. There is capacity building potential in all the work we do: from work-shops to fundraising events and volunteering to PHA socials the opportunities to garner new skills, positively improve ones self-efficacy and broaden ones social/support network exist.In working with non-profits (a process that is often an end in itself) I am often reminded of the South African

term ―ubuntu‖. The concept refers to our interconnectedness as human beings, the requirement of affinity to

realize ones own humanity and the self-assurance that comes from being part of a greater whole. Furthermore, we become who we are as people through our relationships with others. We are shaped by our environment, thepeople around us and, because what we do affects our environment, we are shaped by the activities and prac-tices we engage in. The work we do and relationships we develop in meeting our objectives as an organizationhas the added benefit of changing each of us for the better in the process. It is with this philosophy in mind thatI come into this position at AIDS NB and the reason I seek to maintain and increase the participation of ourmembership. While at AIDS NB, it is my goal to follow the democratic principle of greater involvement of persons living withor affected by HIV/AIDS (GIPA) in practice. Therefore, myself and the staff at AIDS NB will be working to makeall levels of this organization increasingly inclusive and participatory. To begin we are striving to maintain moreconsistent contact with our members and volunteers through various mediums such as this newsletter, InfoAc-cess, our yet-to-be-launched new website and social networking tools like Facebook. You can join our Facebook

group by searching ―Friends of AIDS NB‖ to keep up to date with what is going on.

Members and volunteers will be notified of events planning regularly and are encouraged to participate inevents planning at any level they feel comfortable. We would also like to encourage greater participation in ourcommittees and Board of Directors where there are opportunities to participate at varying levels of commitmentand skill. This is a great opportunity to have a say in the direction of the organization. For more information on AIDS NB committees, Board seats and other ways to get involved please contact our PHA liaison, Diedre Smith.In the past couple of months the staff have been organizing several fundraising events, working on an excitingphoto series, discussing some new ideas for the coming year, planning a Fall PHA gathering, preparing for our biannual evaluation from the Public Health Agency of Canada, and applying for a number of grants. It is shap-ing up to be an exciting year for AIDS NB and I am looking forward to meeting and working with all of you.Wehope to be polling you from time to time to share your thoughts, opinions, ideas and comments on how we aredoing. I hope that you will all take the time to fill these out and send them when you havethe chance. This exercise will help us better shape the work we do at AIDS NB.I would like to end this letter by thanking you for the wonderful opportunity to work with such talented volun-teers and staff in such an important organization. Please do not hesitate to contact us anytime at our toll freenumber or by email. We would love to hear from you

.Sincerely Yours,Nick Scott

Meet the new Executive Director of AIDS New Brunswick

Volume 6, Issue 1

FALL 2009