In the context of the ongoing toxic drug supply and drug poisoning crisis, harm reduction services are an essential life-saving and emergent priority. In small urban, rural, and remote (SURR) communities, people face unique challenges including limited access to health services, geographical isolation, transportation challenges, and decreased anonymity accompanied by experiences of stigma and discrimination.

We have heard from communities of people who use drugs and who lead harm reduction services, that HIV is often not discussed amongst people using drugs out of fear that stigma will dissuade people from using drugs with them. We know this represents a gap in HIV prevention, testing, and treatment which this positive action aims to address.

This positive action will create a Workshop Kit for people with lived and living experience of substance use, by people living with HIV. This will be implemented in existing SURR community organization services to change attitudes and behaviours towards HIV related stigma, reduced experiences of stigma for people living with HIV, and the ultimate goal of increasing access to HIV treatment for people who access harm reduction services to improve overall health.

Our positive action aims to alleviate the psychological distress caused by stigma by providing young African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) women an opportunity to reclaim their sense of well-being and inner strength. By addressing stigma directly, this positive action will enhance access to healthcare services and support networks, empowering young women to navigate their HIV journey with resilience and confidence.

In our positive action, we will implement peer-led, group-based educational workshops to reduce HIV-related intersectional stigma, prevent secondary HIV transmission, and promote treatment, care, and support for young ACB women aged 16-29. We hope to empower and enable young women to play an active role in shaping their destinies and advocating for the rights and dignity of all people living with HIV.

United Voices of HIV Alberta (UVHA) is a provincial caucus within the Alberta Community Council on HIV, comprising individuals living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Our positive action will leverage digital storytelling (DS) to empower PLWHA to talk about their experiences of stigma in a safe way. Digital narratives can transform perceptions, politicize personal experiences, and promote wellness.

Employing a participatory, asset-based community-building approach, UHVA focuses on the strengths of PLWHA. We will use the stories that participants have given permission to use at the end of the training to engage in a conversation that will serve to renew the work of stigma reduction in Alberta through the United Voices of HIV Alberta.

This positive action is bringing together a group of people who use drugs and who are living with HIV to help break isolation and build community in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighbourhood of Montreal.

Over several months, the group is meeting once a month for a community dinner, where participants share experiences, learn, and connect with others who face similar challenges. Each dinner focuses on a different theme, offering up-to-date and accurate information to reduce both external stigma and self-stigma. The power of lived experience is centered in this positive action and its approach ensures that participants’ voices guide the project while creating knowledge, connection, and mutual support.

Building on the previous success of the Sex, Drugs and Bingo game, Nine Circles Community Health Centre, Winnipeg, MB, in collaboration with the MB HIV STBBI Collective Impact Network and the University of Manitoba, is leading a new pilot project to bring fun, low-barrier HIV education to First Nations communities in Manitoba. The goal is to co-develop with Indigenous partners an engaging, community-driven Bingo educational tool and session that will foster open, respectful conversations about HIV, dispel myths, and ultimately address and reduce HIV stigma in First Nation communities across Manitoba.

Nine Circles Community Health Centre are pleased to partner with two Indigenous Partners: Southern Chiefs Organization (SCO) and Cree Nation Tribal Health Centre (CNTHC), who have provided valuable input into the content and the design of the Bingo tool, and have identified two pilot communities each who will be testing the tool and the process. Throughout the project, an Indigenous Peer Project Associate from a First Nation community is working closely with the project coordinator. Their approach ensures the project is community-led, culturally grounded, and responsive to local needs. Their hope is that the project will not only utilize bingo as an effective way to reduce stigma but also foster community leadership in HIV education.

This positive action led by the team at Ka Ni Kanichihk builds on prior land-based workshops engaging straight-identifying Indigenous men in culturally grounded activities that integrate ancestral knowledge with discussions on sexual health and HIV prevention. It responds to high HIV rates in Manitoba and the disproportionate impact on Indigenous communities, as well as persistent gaps in programming for straight-identifying men, who are often excluded from prevention messaging.

By combining cultural teachings with sexual health education, the project aims to reduce HIV-related stigma, increase awareness of prevention options, and strengthen participants’ confidence in discussing sexual health within their communities.

Theatre Making Impact (TMI) will lead a workshop series where newcomer youth will collaborate with peers living with HIV to co-create original theatre scenes focused on reducing HIV stigma. The workshops will respond to the lived realities of racialized newcomer youth, creating space to explore how HIV stigma operates across communities, families, and social settings. The theatre scenes created through this project will be integrated into TMI’s touring program, which reaches high school students across Canada. TMI will also host a World AIDS Day event in partnership with York University to share the scenes with students, community members, service providers, researchers, and policymakers.

This positive action addresses a gap in culturally safe, stigma-informed sexual health education, particularly for racialized newcomer youth experiencing intersecting forms of stigma. Many youth have limited access to contact-based education led by people living with HIV. Through innovative arts-based methods, the positive action aims to foster dialogue, as well as increase empathy and understanding.

The Red Ribbon Path is a peer-led, arts-based HIV stigma reduction initiative led by PEERS Alliance. The month-long public art and storytelling trail transforms parks, sidewalks, and cultural spaces into sites of reflection, education, and community connection in recognition. Featuring large-scale installations created by local artists and community members, the positive action will share stories connected to HIV in PEI and across Canada through visual art, storytelling, educational materials, and interactive experiences.

This positive action aims to reduce stigma, increase empathy and awareness, and connect community members to local HIV information, testing, and support resources.