Positive Status and Building a Positive Support Group

I would not be where I am today without community support. Community support is so vital when it comes to someone living with HIV. At the beginning of my diagnosis, it was very hard for me to find a community that I could be open with and discuss my feelings around my new status. Since I could not find a community, I decided to make one on my own.

After about a year living with HIV, I pitched an idea to my supervisor - a HIV-positive support group was needed within my community. Before I pitched this idea to them, I took some time to reflect on what my intention was behind building this support group and further understand the need for this support.

It took a while and brought back many emotions for me, but it was needed to create a successful support group. I had to think about what types of conversations and thoughts would come up when I was facilitating these types of groups.

A support group for people like me

I wanted a safe space for people like me who are living with HIV to feel supported. My initial step was to understand the need for support. I quickly realized my experience was not the only one out there, and I had to get feedback from others as well.

I started reaching out to individuals living with HIV to ask them what support meant and looked like to them. After I received this feedback, I made sure to write down topics or possible activities that could be done in this group to make participants feel heard, seen, and appreciated. The next step was to find a location to have these meetings. The location had to be an accessible place to the community, but also private due to the types of conversations that were going to happen.

How I did it

After finding a location for the group, it was now time to find participants. I first started off with individuals who had shared their HIV status with me in my inner network. I took it upon myself to create flyers for the group, which I then shared on my social media pages in hopes of getting more people who were interested in participating.

During this time, I realized how difficult it could be to find people who were interested; I even thought about giving up. Many individuals seemed interested but also nervous to share their status. I reminded myself of why I was inspired to create this group - so those living with HIV would not feel as alone as I did when I was first diagnosed.

After reminding myself multiple times, I decided to share a video of me talking about my status which helped others get to know me more and feel comfortable. After a few months of trial and error, I had about 10 individuals who came to group consistently every Wednesday. We became a family and supported one another in so many ways possible.

Building an HIV-positive support group

Creating an HIV-positive support group can have a profound impact on those living with HIV and the overall community. These groups provide safe and supportive spaces for those who need emotional support and a place free of stigma. It can take time to build up trust from your participants but once you do, it will all be worth it.