Ribbon Community

Ribbon Community Ribbon Community was founded in 1983 as AIDS Vancouver. Today, we support and empower our communities to overcome the impacts of HIV and HIV stigma.

It is our role to ensure the ways the virus and stigma impact our lives do not make us smaller. Founded as AIDS Vancouver in 1983. Operating as Ribbon Community as of March 2024. If you are looking for AIDS Vancouver, you are in the right place. We changed our name on March 26, 2024, although the programs, services and people you know are still here, working to live up to our new purpose and value

s as we embrace our new name. In short, we are Ribbon. In long form, we are Ribbon Community. In both cases, Ribbon Community is all of us. Whether you like this new name, or you don’t, we are holding space for that and the many other feelings as all of us adjust to change. This new name is a big change, or a small change, depending on what you want to see:
-Moving from AIDS to Ribbon: a symbol, not a diagnosis
-Moving from Vancouver to Community: a group of us defined by so much more than geography

Learn more about our continued programs and services on our website at www.aidsvancouver.org.

We are pleased to share that the AIDS Walk is back, with the 40th anniversary edition. The first AIDS Walk in Canada too...
09/03/2026

We are pleased to share that the AIDS Walk is back, with the 40th anniversary edition. The first AIDS Walk in Canada took place in Stanley Park in 1986, organized by BC Persons With AIDS Society. Since then, the event has been hosted each year by the same organization until the organization closed in March 2020. Since then, this event has been kept alive by an unstoppable community member and past Board member at Positive Living BC - Empress 52 of Vancouver Heels On Wheels Miss Chantelle Lee. This year, we are pleased to formally host the AIDS Walk at Ribbon Community, with ongoing involvement from those who were involved at Positive Living BC. Over the years, it has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the HIV response while connecting people living with HIV, community members, health care providers, and allies.

*All are welcome to join this free event made possible thanks to our dedicated sponsors.* To walk with us, please register online at:
https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/ribbon-community/events/2026aidswalkvancouver/

Donations are welcome whether or not your would like to join us for the walk (3pm), reflection at the AIDS Memorial (4pm), and/or show and community conversation at The Junction (5:30pm).
All donations will support the Financial Assistance Fund at Ribbon Community. People living with HIV throughout BC are able to access this direct financial support to address urgent needs and to access gender-affirming care and culture.

Surrey Positive Gathering Group is a confidential, peer-led support space for people living with HIV. It offers a safe a...
09/03/2026

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 September 10 from 2-4pm and September 22 from 5:30-7:30pm.

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

Stop by Ribbon Community on September 9th for an afternoon of candle-making with your community members! The workshop wi...
09/03/2026

Stop by Ribbon Community on September 9th for an afternoon of candle-making with your community members! The workshop will take place in the Resource Centre on the fourth (4th) floor and will be led by Amiel.

No RSVP is needed, but please note that supplies are limited.

For September, find the Ribbon Grocery in Vancouver (September 1-3, September 15-17, and September 29 & October 1). Plea...
08/25/2026

For September, find the Ribbon Grocery in Vancouver (September 1-3, September 15-17, and September 29 & October 1). Please note that Grocery and all other Ribbon services will be closed on September 30 due to the stat holiday, there will be extra Grocery hours on October 1 from 1-3pm.

Registered clients can shop for free, and choose from a range of produce, protein, pantry, and hygiene items.

Vancouver - 1101 Seymour St.
September 1 and 2: find us from 1pm - 4pm
September 3: open for women and gender diverse people from 10am -12pm

September 15 and 16: find us from 1pm - 4pm
September 17: open for women and gender diverse people from 10am -12pm

September 29: find us from 1pm - 4pm
September 30: Closed for Statutory Holiday
October 1: open for women and gender diverse people from 10am -12pm
extra grocery hours from 1 - 3pm due to September 30 closure

Surrey Positive Gathering Group is a confidential, peer-led support space for people living with HIV. It offers a safe a...
08/06/2026

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 August 13 from 2-4pm and August 25 from 5:30-7:30pm.

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

For August, find the Ribbon Grocery in Vancouver (August 4-6 and August 18-20). Registered clients can shop for free, an...
07/31/2026

For August, find the Ribbon Grocery in Vancouver (August 4-6 and August 18-20). Registered clients can shop for free, and choose from a range of produce, protein, pantry, and hygiene items.

Vancouver - 1101 Seymour St.
August 4 and 5: find us from 1pm - 4pm
August 6: open for women and gender diverse people from 10am -12pm

August 18 and 19: find us from 1pm - 4pm
August 20: open for women and gender diverse people from 10am -12pm

Find the Ribbon Grocery in Surrey (July 6 and July 27) and Vancouver (July 7-9 and July 21-23). Registered clients can s...
07/02/2026

Find the Ribbon Grocery in Surrey (July 6 and July 27) and Vancouver (July 7-9 and July 21-23). 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.
July 7 and 8: find us from 1pm - 4pm
July 9: open for women and gender diverse people from 10am -12pm

July 21 and 22: find us from 1pm - 4pm
July 23: 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, July 6 from 4-6pm
Monday, July 27 from 4-6pm

Surrey Positive Gathering Group is a confidential, peer-led support space for people living with HIV. It offers a safe a...
07/02/2026

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 July 9 from 2-4pm and July 21 from 6-7:30pm.

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

We have always been more than one community. To people who have been living with HIV for decades, today is the day we ho...
06/05/2026

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 fre...
06/02/2026

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

Address

1101 Seymour Street
Vancouver, BC
V6B0R1

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 4pm
Tuesday 10am - 4pm
Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm

Website

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