World AIDS Day in Vancouver: Desert Migration documentary screening

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      On World AIDS Day (December 1), Out on Screen and McLaren Housing will offer a chance for Vancouverites to take a look back at how far we've come in the HIV movement by focusing on a unique community that formed after the onset of the disease.

      The organizations are hosting the Canadian premiere of the documentary Desert Migration at Vancity Theatre (1181 Seymour Street) at 7 p.m. This documentary features the stories of several longterm HIV/AIDS survivors who moved to Palm Springs during the peak of the epidemic.

      There within the socially accepting environment of the southern Californian desert oasis, the men have contended with aging, treatment side effects, and post-traumatic stress after living through the widespread decimation and debilitation among community members after the emergence of the "gay cancer".

      After the screening, St. Paul's Hospital senior social worker (of the John Ruedy Immunodeficiency Clinic) Mary Petty will lead a panel discussion featuring staff from Positive Living BC and HIV community members.

      Tickets are $10, available from the McLaren Housing website.

      If you're not familiar with McLaren Housing, it was the first HIV/AIDS housing provider in Canada when it launched in 1987. It has expanded to provide housing options and support services beyond the Lower Mainland to Vancouver Island and Interior B.C.

      Here's the trailer for the documentary to give you a glimpse of what the film is like:

       

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