When Jeff first arrived at the Dr. Peter Centre Residence he was so sick he couldn’t walk. Over the next year and a half, he regained his health, strength and his sense of purpose.

“I was an absolute mess,” Jeff says. “I had given up on life, but the nurses and staff didn’t give up on me. They always showed that they cared about me. And pretty soon I started getting better.”

When Jeff was well enough, he moved out of the Dr. Peter Centre and began attending the Day Health Program. These days, he comes every day for meals, nursing, and to volunteer his time clearing up in the café and helping out where he can. He credits the Centre’s seven-day-a-week service for keeping him well and giving his life structure.

“Having somewhere to go every day means everything to me,” he says. “I don’t know what I’d do without it.”

Jeff is an outdoorsy guy who grew up in Chilliwack and worked as a logger for 26 years. His father, with whom he was very close, died suddenly when Jeff was 16 and he was abruptly thrown into adult life. Soon he became a father himself, but his marriage was short-lived and, more often than not, he found himself working in remote logging camps far from his young daughters.

“It was hard to be away from them, but what was I supposed to do?” Jeff says. “I needed to work to provide for them.”

Jeff struggled with his personal life, but threw himself into his career as a logger. Unfortunately, Jeff lost his job in 2002 when the logging industry went into decline. The layoff meant more than losing his income; it meant losing his sense of identity.

“I had a really hard time with that. Logging was my life,” Jeff says. “I started using drugs and within three years was HIV positive.”

These days, Jeff works hard to stay healthy and optimistic with the help of the Dr. Peter Centre.

“Everyone here cares about you,” he says. “The staff is fun and makes you laugh. I didn’t know people like this existed. I’m used to seeing the other side of life.”

the CORNERSTONEWHAT’S NEW AT THE Dr. PETEr AIDS FOUNDATION FALL 2012

C H A N G I N G T H E W O R L D O F H I V / A I D S C A R E

“I Didn’t Know People Like This Existed”

Jeff outside the Dr. Peter Centre entrance.

Save the Date – November 30, 2012Join the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation at our fifth annual Voices of Hope concert – an evening of remembrance and celebration on the eve

of World AIDS Day 2012 – in partnership with Casey House in Toronto and La Maison du Parc in Montreal and sponsored nationally by

M·A·C AIDS Fund, Franklin Templeton, Gilead, Merck, TELUS, and ViiV Healthcare. Performers include Ali Milner, In Medias res, Ben

Sigston, Hilary Grist and a special presentation of “Affirmation” by Vancouver Men’s Chorus. Voices of Hope is hosted by 102.7 The Peak

at Christ Church Catherdral. For more information, go to www.drpeter.org.

FALL 2012 THE COrNErSTONE

Twenty years after his passing, Dr. Peter continues to touch us all. The AIDS Foundation that bears his name says it all – a commitment to life – which is synonymous with a commitment to love, for the two go together. Dr. Peter proved that in his work, his life, and to those he loved. We move on, never forgetting all that Dr. Peter shows us. What else can we do?

With love,Tom Hanks

November 15th marks 20 years since Dr. Peter’s passing. In that time, the Foundation he founded has provided comfort care to some of Vancouver’s most vulnerable citizens, and garnered the support of some of the world’s most high-profile people. Tom Hanks is the Honorary Patron of the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation.

Two Years of Weekend Service

A Message From Tom Hanks

Share Your Points You can donate your

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Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation.

You’ll help us purchase

essential medical supplies and

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clients, as well as seasonal items

and refreshments.

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www.shoppersdrugmart.ca/donate

and click on Donate Now.

With the help of an anonymous donor and the province of British Columbia, the Dr. Peter Centre was able to expand from weekday-only to seven-day-a-week service in December 2010. Two years later, our data shows that offering Day Health Program participants weekend service has made a significant impact on how often they access nursing supports, medication management, and other treatment contacts all week long.

We asked our Day Health Program participants: “What does weekend service

at the Dr. Peter Centre mean to you?”

“A safe place to feel safe and cared for, in spite of who I might have been at one time.”

“Having food available 7 days a week and having nurses there on the weekends are both

very important to me.”

From 5-day Service to 7-day Service (beginning December 1, 2010):Increase in Hours of Service Compared to Increases in Service Contacts

The Sum IS GReATeR ThAn The PARTS: The muLTIPLIeR eFFeCT OF TWO mORe DAYS

Increase of hours of Service

Attendance nursing Support

medication management

Treatment Contacts

Increase in Hours of Service from 5-day Service to 7-day Service

Increase in Service Contacts

75%

50%

25%

0%

25%

46%

55%

42%39%

FALL 2012 THE COrNErSTONE

Passions Life Commitment

With the help of our sponsors, donors, volunteers and guests, we raised $112,000 for the Dr. Peter Centre at the 9th annual Passions. We hope you can all join us to celebrate a decade of this delicious event next year.

now in its third year, the Life Commitment event has raised an outstanding $1.7 million for the life-changing work of the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation. Thank you to all of the generous supporters who helped make Life Commitment 2012 a success.

ThAnK YOu TO OuR DOnORS AnD SuPPORTeRS

DInneR SPOnSOReD BY WIne SPOnSOReD BY

BAR SPOnSOReD BY meDIA SPOnSOR

In KInD SPOnSORS

SPOnSOReD BYGeneROuSLY SuPPORTeD BY

ThAnK YOu TO OuR SPOnSORS

A & B Party rentals | Merck | Pinq.ca | Precision Graphics

ThAnK YOu TO OuR ReSTAuRAnTS AnD CheFS

Beachside Forno · Chambar · Cibo · CinCin · Coast Crave On Main · Diva at the Met · Forage · Fraiche

Hapa Izakaya · Kale & Nori · La Belle Auberge · Le Gavroche Maenam · Market at the Shangri-la · Miku / Minami

MIX the Bakery · Oru at the Fairmont Pacific rim · Provence roaming Dragon · The Observatory · Tojo’s · Urban Fare

West · Yew restaurant & Bar

PLeASe GIVe GeneROuSLY

Donate online at

www.drpeter.org

or call 604.331.5086

Bn: 89738 1141 rr0001

Our community partners are an inspiring reminder of the positive change that can happen when we work together.

SPOTLIGhT On: ShOOTInG STARS FOunDATIOn

Since 1986, when the term “hIV” was coined, Shooting Stars Foundation has been raising funds in support of people living with HIV/AIDS.

They do so by doing what they do best – entertaining people. What began as a single benefit concert, when the entertainment community came out one “Starry Night” in support of its own, has blossomed to include a variety of extravaganzas from a gala wine dinner/auction to a much-anticipated wine-tasting to an eyebrow-raising drag queen revue and many more annual musical happenings throughout Metro Vancouver.

Shooting Stars brings together an ever-growing family of local, national and international artists who volunteer their considerable talents to the benefit of all involved. They raise awareness of these talented performers, bring joy to those they entertain, and the funds they raise have provided over $1.7 million in grants to direct-service HIV/AIDS organizations, like the Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation, who do what they do best in care of our neighbours in need.

The Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation is grateful for the support of people and organizations that go out of their way to make the holidays special for participants and residents at the Dr. Peter Centre.

A turkey dinner is synonymous with Thanksgiving and Christmas for many people so, this year, Dignity Memorial stepped in to pay for the Centre’s holiday turkeys – a whopping 80 kg of them.

Along with their turkey dinner, Dr. Peter residents and Day Health Program participants each receive a holiday gift thanks to the Elf Project – an initiative of some of our dedicated supporters – and the Little Elves Foundation, which delivers individually wrapped holiday gifts to people living with HIV/AIDS all across Canada.

Thank you for your generous support this holiday season – and all year long.

FALL 2012 THE COrNErSTONE

The Cornerstone is produced through the generous support of: Dr. Peter AIDS Foundation

1110 Comox Street

Vancouver, BC

V6E 1K5

T: 604.608.1874

F: 604.608.4259

e: info@drpeter.org

www.drpeter.org

Community Support

Holiday Cheer at the Dr. Peter Centre

Participant, Murray, poses with gifts from the Little Elves.