Starting Home Fires is a campaign led by the Two-Spirit Program at the Community-Based Research Centre (CBRC) in close collaboration with their Leadership Council, consisting of six Indigenous advocates in the area of HIV. It emerged from a desire to witness Indigenous voices and stories in the area of HIV treatment, prevention and care. When we see ourselves in the resources available, a path forward becomes clearer. Informed by and created with the support of Indigenous people living with HIV, Starting Home Fires reflects their diverse realities.

With the spirit and principles of Indigenous self-determination at the forefront, Starting Home Fires is an Indigenous-led response to the need for greater representation of Indigenous people in HIV-related health materials.

This work is rooted in a powerful belief: when our people have access to meaningful, culturally grounded information about HIV, we are better able to make our own choices for our bodies, our families and our communities. Starting Home Fires is about strengthening HIV-related knowledge and decision-making among Indigenous people.

Starting Home Fires was developed with support from CATIE and CANFAR. We honour and recognize the communities of Indigenous people living with HIV, including women, Two-Spirit and trans people, and Elders, who have led the way in HIV advocacy and care for decades. Starting Home Fires is our way of giving thanks to you.

Campaign development was supported by Salt Media and CIA Solutions.

This project was made possible through financial contributions from the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research (CANFAR), the Public Health Agency of Canada, Gilead Canada, Merck Canada, the Community-based Research Centre (CBRC) and the Ontario HIV Treatment Network (OHTN.)

How we work

Starting Home Fires recognizes that our lived experiences are the greatest source of knowledge and understanding. Every experience is a lesson that can be learned, and we have a responsibility to share those teachings with others. The narratives depicted in Starting Home Fires were inspired by real moments and emotions of Indigenous people living with HIV, as well as existing priorities in the area of Indigenous HIV testing, treatment and prevention.

Knowledge lives in our communities and flows through our relationships with one another, as Elders, relatives and friends. We have the ability to teach, respond to and support one another in learning more about HIV.

We honour the diversity within our communities, including Two-Spirit people, women, men, people living with HIV, people who use drugs, Elders and youth. What speaks to one person may not speak to another; we recognize that many perspectives can exist side by side.

Starting Home Fires intentionally reorients how HIV is talked about — moving away from fear, judgment and hierarchy and toward respect, clarity and care.

By meeting people where they gather and sharing knowledge in culturally meaningful ways, we aim to spark curiosity, conversation and confidence around HIV, helping to ignite local fires that continue to burn long after the end of this campaign.