Latest

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Vancouver & Victoria, B.C. – February 18, 2026 – Ribbon Community (formerly AIDS Vancouver) and the Vancouver Island Persons Living with HIV/AIDS Society (VPWAS) are proud to announce their formal amalgamation, effective April 1, 2026. This partnership unites two of British Columbia’s HIV organizations to ensure long-term stability and peer-led support for…

As autumn settles in it’s time to update you on VPWAS.

By the end of May 2025 VPWAS will be facing some major changes. This spring we have been successful in retaining our contract with Island Health through STOP HIV for another five years! However there is a moratorium on any funding increases across the province leaving VPWAS struggling with the increased costs of maintaining our…

Peer support is the root and cause of who we are. If VPWAS has ever provided you with quality of safety and care, then you know Penny. She showed up decades ago and never left. As our long-term peer navigator, she meets people where they are at, —whether long-term survivors working through issues of aging…

Un Navegador de Pares es alguien que está en tu lugar. Con una experiencia de vida similar a la tuya que comprende tu situación, ellos, pueden ayudarte a navegar por el Sistema de Salud mientras apoyan tu  estado de salud y objetivos de bienestar. El programa de navegación entre pares en VPWAS puede ayudarte a…

On March 26, 2024, AIDS Vancouver hosted a Community Celebration to share the results of the Vision Our Future process – a year long conversation about our purpose, values, name and look. Well over 100 guests attended in-person, with more joining us via livestream for a celebration of 40+ years of our history, herstories, and…

The Vision Our Future process at AIDS Vancouver is well underway! The Vision Our Future project is part of our current strategic plan, based on a decision from the membership at a Special General Meeting in February 2023. With great reverence for those who came before us, we set out to revise the mission, vision, values, and…

At a Special General Meeting on February 6, 2023, the AIDS Vancouver membership endorsed a consultation process to revise the mission, vision, values statement, and brand, including our name and logo. We firmly believe this work will allow AIDS Vancouver to continue to support people living with HIV for many years to come. We remain committed…

In looking for ways to promote and integrate our history of grassroots activism while still engaging our community in meaningful ways, the Board and Staff of the Vancouver Island Persons Living with HIV/AIDS Society (VPWAS), in consultation with membership, staff, volunteers and allies has decided we will not participate in the 2016 “Scotiabank AIDS Walk…

A Survey to Determine the Needs, Desires, and Support for a Queer / LGBT Community Centre in Victoria, BC.

Dear members of the VPWAS community, First and foremost, we express our gratitude for your participation in this year’s AGM. A lot of exciting, frustrating, empowering and saddening events have taken place since our last meeting. We mourn for, and celebrate, the lives of members lost over the last year and continue to remember the…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE It is with great sadness that we announce that, as of March 31, 2014, the Victoria AIDS Resource & Community Service Society (VARCS) will be closing its doors. VARCS staff and board were devastated to learn that after 23 years of service, Island Health (formerly known as Vancouver Island Health Authority) will…