How peer support workers are leading the way in preventing the spread of HIV in northern Ontario

When Yvonne Hunter was diagnosed with HIV more than 25 years ago, she says she didn't know what the disease was – and if her friend hadn't suggested she get tested, she wouldn't have even known she was sick.

She was living in Vancouver at the time, and when the nurse asked if she had any family nearby, she suspected the doctor wasn't bringing her good news.

But she received treatment, and since then, she's moved back to Thunder Bay, Ont., where she grew up. Upon her return, she ended up working with P.A.C.E. – People Advocating for Change Through Empowerment – before working with the Ontario Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Strategy and Elevate NWO.

She's shared her story at many conferences over the years, and as a peer support worker, her experience living with HIV and formerly being homeless is an asset, not something to be ashamed of. She's one of 18 people with lived experience at Elevate NWO in northwestern Ontario leading the way to prevent the spread of infectious diseases in vulnerable communities. 

Benefits of building trust through peer support

Elevate NWO mostly works with people in the community when and where they want service, which is part of a larger trend of agencies shifting away from appointment-based models in office settings, Hunter explained. 

"I work more with the street people than I do inside the building, which to me is [much] better than sitting on my ass in here and watching everybody struggle out there," she said.

Much of her work involves checking in on people, helping them find a bed, clean clothes, a shower, and navigating the city. If they're in distress, she asks if they want an ambulance, but lets them take charge of deciding their care.

And if they just want someone to talk to, she takes the time to listen.

"It's better to listen to their story than to put words in their mouths; it's their story. So then when they get their story out, they seem to feel a little less weight on them," Hunter said.

Then, if they ask for advice, "I try to give them ideas, some kind of hope."

Peer support means building relationships with people. This takes time, and even though Hunter is no longer homeless, she still calls the street community her family. Every night, she said she prays she'll see them alive the next day.

Love and trust is what allows peer support workers to make a real impact on people, and is an effective strategy when looking at how to reduce harms and prevent the spread of infectious diseases in the community, said Holly Gauvin, Elevate NWO's executive director. 

"It's the peers that are the lead in if we're ever to make those inroads into these communities, and so it's essential that they're at the front of it," she said. "It also has this amazing impact on the peers' lives as well.

"We talked about the mental health crisis that we're experiencing here in the north … they stop feeling that futility when they feel like they are part of a solution, and not just victims to the problems that exist in our community."

$2.6M funding boost announced 

Their work is getting a boost from the federal government, which on Wednesday announced $2.6 million for a project called Strengthening Peer Engagement for Northern Ontario at Elevate NWO's office in Thunder Bay. 

The project, which stretches from Barrie to the Manitoba border, is led by peer support workers who can educate people about sexually transmitted and bloodborne infections, and what resources are available to help. 

"Our project seeks to put that education and that information into the hands of people who have lived experience, and people who love people who have lived experience," said Gauvin.

The organizations involved ensure workers have the resources they need "to bring that information forward to people who might be at risk and to prevent the spread of infectious disease, to end overdose-related deaths and to help people identify safer supply options," she explained.

This project involves collaboration between several organizations:

• Elevate NWO
• The Gilbert Centre for Social and Support Services
• The AIDS Committee of North Bay and Area
• Réseau Access Network
• Ontario Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Strategy

In northwestern Ontario, where recent HIV outbreaks have occurred in Thunder Bay and Kenora, infectious diseases are often spread by used needles and drug supplies, Gauvin said.

Federal Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos called the drug crisis an emergency, but said work done by harm reduction agencies like Elevate NWO is essential in alleviating the crisis.

"It's an emergency that requires the expansion of early interventions, prevention, harm reduction, safe consumption sites, treatment and also and perhaps mostly, community support," Duclos said.

The funding is part of $30.5 million the government is spending through the HIV and Hepatitis C Community Action Fund and the Harm Reduction Fund to provide better access to prevention, testing, treatment and care.

The money is also part of Canada's larger strategy to meet an ambitious global target: eradicating sexually transmitted and bloodborne infections as public health concerns by 2030.