By Megan DePutter, Positive Prevention Coordinator

The sun is shining, the trees are budding, and spring is finally here. Along with this beautiful weather comes the spring/summer session of Positive Prevention Peer Training!  Mark your calendars, because this exciting opportunity begins in just six weeks!

The winter session of the Positive Prevention Train-the-Trainer course was a huge success. This course is open to anyone who is living with HIV and AIDS.  Participants were able to enjoy 8 weeks of good friends, good food, and great opportunities to learn and build new skills.  We had 10 participants complete the winter session, who were rewarded with a financial honorarium along with other fun prizes, like movie tickets.

The goal of Positive Prevention? To empower individuals, promote healthy relationships with sexual partners and improve conditions, to strengthen the sexual health and well-being of HIV positive individuals and reduce the possibility of new HV infections and other sexually transmitted infections. This course allows you to gain the skills necessary to make a difference in your community and to improve the quality of your own health and relationships as well.

The new spring/summer session boasts some new features, including a workshop on how to exercise personal boundaries with peers as well as how to use social media (such as blogs and twitter) for Positive Prevention efforts.  This "new and improved" series has incorporated valuable feedback from past participants, so it's a perfect time to get involved.

Have questions about what the Positive Prevention Training is all about? Come to our information night on May 5, from 5:30 - 6:30pm in the ACG office.  Or call me at 519-763-2255 ext 161 or send me an email at positiveprevention@aidsguelph.org. You can also learn more about Positive Prevention on our website.

Stay tuned for more information about Positive Prevention and the fun activities I'm lining up!