People living with HIV shared their stories Tuesday as part of a provincial conference looking at ways to deal with high rates of the disease among Aboriginal people in Saskatchewan.
Several speakers from around the province described their struggles at the 2014 Saskatchewan HIV Conference at the Prince Albert Exhibition Centre.
The two-day conference was hosted by the All Nations Hope Network.
Trevor Stratton traveled from Ontario for the conference.
Stratton was diagnosed with HIV in 1990 and now works as the coordinator for the International Indigenous Working Group on HIV and AIDS.
He says it is possible to live positively with an HIV diagnosis and it takes more than medication to live with the disease.
“So the pills take care of the physical but what about the other three-quarters of a person’s health,” he asks? “Emotional health is extremely important, psychological health, your mental health – very, very important.”
Having a strong support network is crucial to the healing process, Stratton adds.
“It’s a matter of why should I protect myself, more people are in such chaos and it takes somebody to throw them a lifeline and it’s not just providing services nine to five – it’s a friend, it’s a support network. And a lot of the people who are getting HIV are outsiders, it’s a disease of outsiders, it’s people who are not connected and supported.”
The conference wrapped up Wednesday.