Ribbon Community

We have always been more than one community. To people who have been living with HIV for decades, today is the day we hold space for you, and your of living with HIV for 20+ years. Whether that journey is of living with HIV since birth, through blood transfusion, through s*x or substance use - you have survived immense loss, unknowns, and stigma, and built incredible community and a community-based response that continues today.

You are the generation that built our organizations and has made today’s community-based response possible. Thank you.

Please join us on June 24 at 2pm for a High Tea, honouring HIV long-term survivors of all ages, genders, and ethnicities, however HIV has become part of your story. People living with HIV for 20+ years, and friends, allies, and accomplices are welcome to this space of community care and cultural connection to honour decades of life with HIV.

In part, today is about awareness. For those who would like to learn more or relive this part of the HIV epidemic, many long-term survivors generously recorded their stories as part of the HIV In My Day research project, and made them public through this online archive:
https://vault.library.uvic.ca/collections/d4feeba5-d1bd-4b4c-b950-602bf93a523d?locale=en -in-collection

Thank you for being here. Thank you for building this, and hope to see you on June 24.

Find the Ribbon Grocery in Surrey (June 8) and Vancouver (June 9-11 and June 23-25). Registered clients can shop for free at either Surrey or Vancouver, and choose from a range of produce, protein, pantry, and hygiene items.

Vancouver - 1101 Seymour St.
June 9 and 10: find us from 1pm - 4pm
June 11: open for women and gender diverse people from 10am -12pm

June 23 and 24: find us from 1pm - 4pm
June 25: open for women and gender diverse people from 10am -12pm

Surrey - confidential location available by call or text 236-688-6428 for registered clients
Monday, June 8 from 4-6pm

Surrey Positive Gathering Group is a confidential, peer-led support space for people living with HIV. It offers a safe and welcoming place to connect and share. Snacks and soft beverages are provided, with a cash prize draw. Topics and activities vary each month.

The group will be meeting on June 11 from 2-4pm and June 23 from 6-7:30pm.

For more details, please contact Joshna at [email protected].

Since 1986, the Grocery program has been a key part of how we support and empower our communities. Each year, dedicated volunteers offer hundreds of hours to receive and sort food items, stock the shelves, and welcome registered clients who are able to shop the weekly specials for free. We offer a combination of protein and produce items, alongside pantry and hygiene items, to contribute to food access in our communities.

We are currently looking for volunteers to join us on Monday and Wednesday mornings, and Wednesday afternoons. We are also always open to in-kind donations of food and hygiene items. More details at the link below.

https://www.volunteerconnector.org/vancouver/aids-vancouver/grocery-volunteer-shifts-available-mondays-wednesdays-9-12pm-or-1-4pm

Each year, the Global Network of People living with HIV (GNP+) recognizes the third Sunday in May as the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial. For years, we have hosted a gathering alongside the global community.

This year, the theme chosen by GNP+ is "Light the Legacy: Remember. Advance Act" to honour generations of people living with HIV. This is deeply connected to who we are trying to be at Ribbon Community as we pull together the past, present, and future of the HIV response, including showing up for the generation that built AIDS Vancouver as they age. Now, with new peer support and community programs specific to young people it is more important than ever that we collectively pull together the past, present, and the future to honour those who have passed, and those who are living.
Please do take a moment to register below. For those who choose to attend this event, we will have some shared snacks, ceremony, and opportunity to light candles in memory, resistance, and support.
This year, Elder Sandy Lambert will offer an opening and smudging. Together, we will honour the leadership, courage and resilience of people living with HIV across generations.
Join us at Ribbon Community at 7pm on Wednesday, May 27. Please take a moment to RSVP to support our event planning efforts - https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/zjp3kn3 .
Following this gathering, we will offer transportation for those who wish to gather at the AIDS Memorial at English Bay prior to sunset.

We have opened a special intake of the $2,500 Kenneth Lackner Scholarship program, open now through June 1.

We made this decision in direct response to the increased financial hardships we are observing in our communities.

This scholarship is available towards education at a recognized, Canadian postsecondary education institution for current students, as well as recent graduates and people starting school in the coming months. Full details are available on our website, along with the application https://www.ribboncommunity.org/scholarship.

We encourage applications from people living with HIV in BC, Ribbon clients in the HIV Prevention Case Management program, Ribbon Community volunteers, and family members of Ribbon Community clients. People living with HIV [confirmation of status required] can reach out to a Case Manager for support with the application.

You can also get the scholarship application at Reception, or from any Ribbon Community team members. Submit it before the end of the day on June 1, 2026.

Surrey Positive Gathering Group is a confidential, peer-led support space for people living with HIV. It offers a safe and welcoming place to connect and share. Snacks and soft beverages are provided, with a cash prize draw. Topics and activities vary each month.

The group will be meeting on May 14 from 2-4pm and May 26 from 6-7:30pm.

For more details, please contact Joshna at [email protected].

Find the Ribbon Grocery in Surrey (May 4) and Vancouver (May 12-14 and May 26-28). Registered clients can shop for free and choose from a range of produce, protein, pantry, and hygiene items.

Vancouver - 1101 Seymour St.
May 12 and 13: find us from 1pm - 4pm
May 14: open for women and gender diverse people from 10am -12pm

May 26 and 27: find us from 1pm - 4pm
May 28: open for women and gender diverse people from 10am -12pm

Surrey - confidential location available by call or text 236-889-4237 for registered clients
Monday, May 4 from 4-6pm

Are you looking for a fun and social way to spend your Monday afternoons? Join us for Games Day on May 4, May 11, and May 25 from 2-4PM, hosted by Matthew!

These sessions are open to anyone interested in playing games with fellow community members.

Ribbon Community is inviting all women living with HIV in Greater Victoria and surrounding areas to join us for a free grocery pick up as part of our provincial food security initiative, and/or the peer support group by and for women living with HIV!

Women are invited to pick up groceries this coming Thursday, April 30 starting at 12pm. Women living with HIV and their dependents eligible for free groceries. To ensure confidentiality, the location will be shared with a confirmed RSVP. We are able to provide transportation support within the Greater Victoria area.

New participants can RSVP to Hadiza at [email protected] or call or text her at 236-688-6428.