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History of Positive Living North:
On August 12, 1992 the Prince George AIDS Society was registered as a nonprofit society as legislated by the British Columbia Societies Act. Volunteers worked for at least two years prior to that, with the original titles of PWA North and PWA Advisory Committee, in conjunction with PWA Vancouver (“PWA” – Persons With AIDS).
In the beginning, around 1989, work was done out of volunteers’ homes, and in September of 1991 the first official meeting of the society took place. On December 1, 1992 (World AIDS Day) the first PGAS office was opened in the basement of the Community Services Building at 1306 – 7th Avenue.
In January and February 1993, two support groups were established: “Friends, Families and Significant Others” of those infected by HIV/AIDS (“affected” people), and “For Women Only”. The groups were facilitated by volunteers.
In July 1993, Dr. Bill Coleman’s services were contracted for seven hours per month. He was to provide education, counselling, training, support, evaluation, volunteer orientation, and lectures to the Society.
In August 1993, the Society was awarded a Bingo license, which created a monthly income that was used to pay the rent on the new office at 1371 4th Ave.
A great deal of time and effort went into producing a Policy and Procedure Manual, which was approved in August 1994. That same month, a grant was received from the provincial government through the Ministry of Health for a Volunteer Training and Awareness project. A Project Coordinator, Olive Godwin, was hired in November 1994. In January, 1994 a new group was formed, “For Men Only”, facilitated by Bill Coleman.
In late September of each year there have been AIDS Walks, all of them raising significant amounts of money. National AIDS Awareness Week (late November) and World AIDS Day (December 1) are other endeavors where volunteers have traditionally worked to organize a variety of activities.
In August, 1995, Olive Godwin became the society’s Executive Director. Other staff began to be hired, beginning in September of 1995, and in November of that year the office hours increased to the current five days per week.
The Care Team concept was introduced in April of 1996 to interested volunteers and in April/May the first training session was offered. Since then, a number of Care Teams have been set up for clients living and dying with AIDS.
In April of 1996 the agency relocated to its current location, 1563 2nd Ave. This space has enabled clients to receive truly confidential counselling (the walls go right to the ceiling!) and better accommodates the increased activities of the Society. At an Annual General Meeting of members on October 17, 1996, the name of the agency was changed from the Prince George AIDS Society to AIDS Prince George.
The organization eventually bloomed into three departments, education and awareness, client support services and administration. Through these three departments, people living with HIV/AIDS and Hep C could now find some comfort in knowing that there was a team of individuals that were here to care and provide support for them.
In 2002, concerned members of the community had begun to see a trend in the direction that HIV was heading. Though HIV was affecting everybody, regardless of wealth, sexual orientation, age, ethnicity, geographic location, etc, Aboriginal people seemed to show a higher rate of infection than any other ethnic group in the northern region. Through research and data conducted by the Cedar Project, a growing Aboriginal membership, and input from staff and northern community, the organization made a decision to re-establish itself to combat the blueprint that HIV was creating.
As of September 1st, 2003 AIDS Prince George Society re-birthed itself and legally changed its name to Positive Living North: No khēyoh t’sih’en t’sehena Society (Our working name is Positive Living North). This change, along with the development of a new vision statement, is the last step in our journey toward solidifying our ongoing commitment to operating as an Aboriginal AIDS service organization.
Since that time the agency has grown significantly to include a large number of staff. The agency offers client services to approximately 120 people living with HIV and their families. We have more than enough opportunity to see the direct effect of HIV on Aboriginal people when 75% of our clients are of Aboriginal descent. Our newest program, the Fire Pit Cultural Centre is focused on providing service to street-involved people. The Drop in Centre is open 3 afternoons a week and serves between 50-130 people each day.
The agency has matured to become an integral part of the service community in Prince George and the region. It has strength in its governance: a diverse Board with representation from many communities including 57% of Aboriginal descent; a long-term, committed staff (50% Aboriginal) with a vision and proven fiscal responsibility. We also believe we are the best suited for this specific project because we are a northern agency with a proven track record and a mandate of education, prevention and support in HIV/AIDS.
The process of strategically building a solid foundation of knowledge in a community led the way for Positive Living North to work with Aboriginal people and their communities in a meaningful way.
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