Our Values

Through the Vision Our Future process, we heard about how people want to feel when connecting with our programs and services, the role of people living with HIV in the HIV response when it comes to prevention and care, and the importance of seeing each unique experience with our shared experiences of HIV and HIV stigma. We heard how important our relationships are, and how people want us to show up when we need to change or do better.

We took all of this and tried to pack it in to four values, each of which represents so many more within it. Each one of these values reflects our commitment to the people who count on our programs and services for now and well into the future. Our four values are overlapping and connected, on purpose, and we are so excited to share them with you:

We nurture meaningful involvement of people living with HIV.
We welcome our communities.
We honour every journey.
We are accountable.

Ultimately, our new purpose, values, and name are a celebration of our communities past and present: what we have built, and what we have learned along the way; the connection and community borne out of remarkable grief and loss. As we share our new purpose, values, name and look, we are also celebrating what you told us you want to see change, the parts of us that will stay the same, and most importantly, they ways we will continue to show up for people living with HIV - and our broader communities - for years to come.

Keep reading to learn more about what each of these values mean.

We nurture meaningful involvement of people living with HIV.

People living with HIV founded the concepts of HIV care, education and prevention that are the basis for our work today. We only exist today because of past and present people living with HIV.
We engage with people living with HIV in all their diversity and make space for different approaches and perspectives.
Our approach to greater involvement of people living with HIV/AIDS and meaningful engagement of people living with HIV/AID (GIPA/MEPA) intentionally connects with groups we have excluded in the past
As HIV — and the response to it — changes, our commitment to greater and meaningful involvement of people living with HIV is more important than ever.

We honour every journey.

Whatever a person’s HIV status, whether a person has been living with HIV for days or decades, we honour each person’s unique journey.
With compassion and understanding, we see each person’s strengths and struggles side by side.
We are responsive to each person’s identity and the experiences that shape them, their unique needs, and the ways each person holds survival, struggle, and resilience all at once, or not at all.
We know that everyone who connects with us is more than their relationship to HIV or substance use.
We understand HIV and stigma mean different things to different people, and that they impact each person differently. We affirm each person’s right to control their private information, and each person’s unique needs around anonymity and disclosure.
We foster a space that treats each person with dignity, is culturally responsive, gender affirming, and shaped by a trauma-aware approach to harm reduction and sex-positivity.

We are accountable.

We believe our relationships make us stronger
We are accountable for what we do, in cases where we get it right and those where we don’t.
We are at our best when we invite ideas, feedback, and input from our communities; we invite and explore new ideas with gratitude and a sense of possibility.
We learn proactively to ensure we stay up-to-date.
Even with our decades of experience in this work, we know we need to respond to today’s realities, and what is to come.
We all come to this space as both teachers and learners. Here, we listen to understand.
We address concerns with humility, and we are prepared to respond and make changes.
We see feedback and concerns that are shared with us as a gift, and an opportunity to respond in a way that strengthens our impact for the future.

We welcome our communities.

We are made up of many communities, based on identity, culture, shared experience, and so much more.
We honour the diversity of these communities, and we are intentional about creating space for everyone to be part of who we are and what we do.
We work with an equity lens to be affirming, approachable, and responsive.
We are intentional about using inclusive language that supports all people in wellness and healing. We offer accurate, up-to-date information without fear or stigma as we work towards healing for our communities.
We welcome partnerships with people, organizations, and funders who align with our purpose and values. We recognize the role of allies and accomplices alongside those with lived and living experience.

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