Smash Stigma by Casey House

The HIV Witch Hunt

Oscar is pushed to his limit when Michael reveals his status to the Office.

New episode. Same stigma.

HIV stigma can destroy confidence, relationships, and careers but the realities of the disease are underrepresented in media. We wanted to change that. So we searched through every episode of The Office to create a new story about the impact of HIV stigma.

Untold Stories of Stigma

Our episode of The Office is fiction, but the stories below are real. See the faces and hear stories of how stigma impacted six people living with HIV and how they learned to flourish.

Samuel

“It was like a mirror seeing him deteriorate”

Watching his brother live with HIV made Samuel reluctant to start HIV treatment.

Colin

Colin experienced support from those closest to him, and stigma from the wider community.

Chris

His diagnosis took a long time to process before he could share his HIV+ status.

Christian

Multiple stigmas and internalized shame led to increased substance use to cope with the pain.

Rod

Experiencing stigma from his friends and relatives, Rod found support at Casey House.

Xica

“I am not my HIV status”

Xica experienced stigma from within until she learned to love herself for all she is.

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Brought to you by

Brought to you by Casey House

Casey House opened in 1988 as Canada’s first stand-alone treatment facility for people living with HIV/AIDS. Since then, we’ve evolved into a sub-acute HIV/AIDS specialty hospital in Toronto, Canada with inpatient and outpatient programming, and are a world leader in HIV/AIDS health care.

As one of the few places where people with HIV/AIDS know they’ll receive compassionate care without judgment we’re tackling the deeply ingrained stigma associated with HIV. With bold ideas and brave partners, we’re working to make humanity more visible than the disease. Together, we can #smashstigma.

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