“To provide a means for sharing information and coordinating mutual support and action that will strengthen the capacity of individuals and organizations throughout British Columbia to prevent new hepatitis C infections and improve the health and treatment outcomes of people already living with hepatitis C.”
Core Values
Our Mission Statement is our guide to everything that we do.
We put the highest priority on the needs of people living with the effects of HCV in all our actions concerning the Hepatitis C Council of BC.
We will endeavour to meet the challenges that we face with courage, integrity, compassion and understanding.
We consider it vital that all people living with HCV be treated with dignity, respect and understanding in a spirit that recognizes their humanity and the challenges that they face.
We are determined to include people living with HCV in all decisions that affect them.
We will ensure that the Hepatitis C Council of BC operates by consensus to the greatest extent that we can.
We agree to put the values and principles of the Hepatitis C Council of BC ahead of our personal agendas.
We need to revisit our Core Values from time to time, not just to review them, but to recommit ourselves to them, as it is from these that we draw our strength.
Meet the people who help manage our organization.
The operations of HCCBC are managed by a volunteer 14-member Board of Directors, along with a part-time administrator. Here are some of the members of our Board.
Wendy Mackay
Board Co-Chair wmackay@bchepcouncil.ca
I have been actively involved in peer support and advocacy issues for people infected with /affected by Hepatitis C since my own diagnosis in 1999. I have lived on our family farm in the small community of Tlell on the Islands of Haida Gwaii since 1971.
I had always been physically active and involved in community volunteer organizations as well as managing our own home business and working our market gardens with my husband. This all came to a halt with the advancing years of living with Hepatitis C. Although I can no longer work I am pleased to be able to offer volunteer time providing peer support by phone to people on Haida Gwaii /Queen Charlotte Islands and across the Pacific Northwest of B.C. I am able to connect with many other people across the country through my volunteer Hepatitis C Support website. I have been involved with the Council for several years and his year am honored to serve as President of the Pacific Hepatitis C Network and as co-chair on the Council.
Keith McDonald
Board Co-Chair kmcdonald@bchepcouncil.ca
I am HCV positive. I have been a proud member of this organization since 2001 and believe deeply in what we have done and what we are doing to help the entire hepatitis C community in BC .
For the past five years, the Hepatitis C Council of BC/Working Group has been a part of my life’s endeavors. I have a vested interest in the field of innovative prevention initiatives/harm reduction. I feel it is key to work with all community members in order to help end stigma, stem the spread of blood-borne pathogens, and prevent overdose and premature death.
For the last eight years I have been working for ANKORS (AIDS Network, Outreach & Support Society). I provide needle exchange and outreach services to people throughout the West Kootenay and Boundary region. This service is in line with the mandate of the Hepatitis C Council of BC.
I am also a committed member of REDUN (Rural Empowered Drug Users Network), a group of people who may be current or former drug users, and their allies. A priority of REDUN is to ensure that people who use drugs have a voice in treatment, care and the prevention of the spread of disease.
I believe I was infected with hepatitis C when I was born as a blue baby and had a transfusion. I’m very absorbed in helping people with hepatitis C. Aside from being Treasurer, I’ve been co-founder of a support group for substance consumers for six years, and I’ve been involved in street outreach with homeless substance users for Mobile X for two years.
I have been involved with HCCBC as a member for three years and have been on the Board for almost a year.
Ken Thomson
Board Member
I have been passionate about the issues and challenges pertaining to hepatitis C and was one of the original driving forces in the development and establishment of the Hepatitis C Council of BC.
I have been instrumental in my own community, provincially, and nationally in raising awareness and bringing some much needed attention towards addressing the “Silent Killer”.
With the progression of my own hepatitis C, I have been forced to take a less active role and put myself and my health first. However, my countless hours of dedication and passion for the cause continue to shine through regardless.
Ann Livingston
Board Member
I first became a health activist 27 years ago when my oldest son was born with cerebral palsy. After moving to the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver in 1993 and witnessing a woman overdosing on heroin and reviving her, I decided to take action on my neighborhood’s urgent health problems. By 1995, I was organizing people who use drugs to help bring their voices to politicians, bureaucrats and agencies that provide services.
For the past ten years, I’ve been the Executive Project Director of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU) and have become an expert at organizing among marginalized citizens around the determinants of health. To help bring the issues of Vancouver’s increasing population of destitute, homeless, ill and criminalized citizens to city hall, I ran for city council in 1996, 1999 and 2005 for the Vancouver Greens. I’m also a co-founder and board member of PIVOT Legal Society.
Dean Wilson
Board Member
I’ve long been a vocal advocate for the humane treatment of people who use illicit drugs. Currently, I’m president of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU). Over the years, I’ve served as a co-chair of the Harm Reduction Action Society, was the founding President of the B.C. Association of People on Methadone, and served on the Federal Provincial Territorial Task Group on Injection Drug Use. Recently, I was a contributing author on two community-based studies, one focused on the impact of a user-run organization, and the other examining the feasibility of safe injection facilities for people who inject cocaine.
Sheila Kerr
Board member
Sheila Kerr lives in Kelowna, British Columbia, where she works as Prevention, Outreach, and Harm Reduction Coordinator for Living Positive Resource Centre, the Okanagan’s HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C service organisation.
Sheila began volunteering for the centre in 1999, at the age of 14. At that time she was delivering educational presentations around HIV and AIDS. In 2004 the organisation moved towards a focus on blood-borne pathogens, and Sheila quickly adapted by expanding her knowledge and her passion to include viral hepatitis.
Sheila is an active member in her community, and takes on many roles. One of her proudest achievements was establishing a GLBT youth group in 2006, of which she is currently the facilitator. Between 2007 and 2008 Sheila was contracted by YouthCO AIDS Society to manage the Provincial HCV Youth Network.
Sheila is delighted to have the opportunity to serve on the board of the Hepatitis C Council of British Columbia.
How our organization was created.
During the fall of 2004, the BC Hepatitis C Collaborative Circle brought together a broad range of stakeholders through a series of capacity-building meetings funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada and industry sources. The meetings were held in all five of BC’s health regions and produced a comprehensive inventory of the province’s existing services and service gaps, to facilitate future planning and delivery of coordinated hepatitis C care and services.
During this process, members of the BC Hepatitis C Collaborative Circle, the Hepatitis C Society of Canada BC Chapter Network, and members of other groups recognized the need to create a united front for advancing the causes of people living with and at risk for hepatitis C. As a result, these groups came together to form the Hepatitis C Council of British Columbia which would serve as a forum for province-wide communication about hepatitis C.
The Hepatitis C Council of British Columbia (HCCBC) was officially incorporated as a society in 2007.
How our organization is funded
Currently, our main source of funding is the Public Health Agency of Canada.
About Us
Mission Statement
Core Values
Meet the people who help manage our organization.
The operations of HCCBC are managed by a volunteer 14-member Board of Directors, along with a part-time administrator. Here are some of the members of our Board.
Wendy Mackay
Board Co-Chair
wmackay@bchepcouncil.ca
I have been actively involved in peer support and advocacy issues for people infected with /affected by Hepatitis C since my own diagnosis in 1999. I have lived on our family farm in the small community of Tlell on the Islands of Haida Gwaii since 1971.
I had always been physically active and involved in community volunteer organizations as well as managing our own home business and working our market gardens with my husband. This all came to a halt with the advancing years of living with Hepatitis C. Although I can no longer work I am pleased to be able to offer volunteer time providing peer support by phone to people on Haida Gwaii /Queen Charlotte Islands and across the Pacific Northwest of B.C. I am able to connect with many other people across the country through my volunteer Hepatitis C Support website. I have been involved with the Council for several years and his year am honored to serve as President of the Pacific Hepatitis C Network and as co-chair on the Council.
Keith McDonald
Board Co-Chair
kmcdonald@bchepcouncil.ca
I am HCV positive. I have been a proud member of this organization since 2001 and believe deeply in what we have done and what we are doing to help the entire hepatitis C community in BC .
Alex Sherstobitoff
Secretary
alex@bchepcouncil.ca
For the past five years, the Hepatitis C Council of BC/Working Group has been a part of my life’s endeavors. I have a vested interest in the field of innovative prevention initiatives/harm reduction. I feel it is key to work with all community members in order to help end stigma, stem the spread of blood-borne pathogens, and prevent overdose and premature death.
For the last eight years I have been working for ANKORS (AIDS Network, Outreach & Support Society). I provide needle exchange and outreach services to people throughout the West Kootenay and Boundary region. This service is in line with the mandate of the Hepatitis C Council of BC.
I am also a committed member of REDUN (Rural Empowered Drug Users Network), a group of people who may be current or former drug users, and their allies. A priority of REDUN is to ensure that people who use drugs have a voice in treatment, care and the prevention of the spread of disease.
Bob McGillivray
Treasurer
bob@bchepcouncil.ca
I believe I was infected with hepatitis C when I was born as a blue baby and had a transfusion. I’m very absorbed in helping people with hepatitis C. Aside from being Treasurer, I’ve been co-founder of a support group for substance consumers for six years, and I’ve been involved in street outreach with homeless substance users for Mobile X for two years.
I have been involved with HCCBC as a member for three years and have been on the Board for almost a year.
Ken Thomson
Board Member
I have been passionate about the issues and challenges pertaining to hepatitis C and was one of the original driving forces in the development and establishment of the Hepatitis C Council of BC.
I have been instrumental in my own community, provincially, and nationally in raising awareness and bringing some much needed attention towards addressing the “Silent Killer”.
With the progression of my own hepatitis C, I have been forced to take a less active role and put myself and my health first. However, my countless hours of dedication and passion for the cause continue to shine through regardless.
Ann Livingston
Board Member
I first became a health activist 27 years ago when my oldest son was born with cerebral palsy. After moving to the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver in 1993 and witnessing a woman overdosing on heroin and reviving her, I decided to take action on my neighborhood’s urgent health problems. By 1995, I was organizing people who use drugs to help bring their voices to politicians, bureaucrats and agencies that provide services.
For the past ten years, I’ve been the Executive Project Director of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU) and have become an expert at organizing among marginalized citizens around the determinants of health. To help bring the issues of Vancouver’s increasing population of destitute, homeless, ill and criminalized citizens to city hall, I ran for city council in 1996, 1999 and 2005 for the Vancouver Greens. I’m also a co-founder and board member of PIVOT Legal Society.
Dean Wilson
Board Member
I’ve long been a vocal advocate for the humane treatment of people who use illicit drugs. Currently, I’m president of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU). Over the years, I’ve served as a co-chair of the Harm Reduction Action Society, was the founding President of the B.C. Association of People on Methadone, and served on the Federal Provincial Territorial Task Group on Injection Drug Use. Recently, I was a contributing author on two community-based studies, one focused on the impact of a user-run organization, and the other examining the feasibility of safe injection facilities for people who inject cocaine.
Sheila Kerr
Board member
Sheila Kerr lives in Kelowna, British Columbia, where she works as Prevention, Outreach, and Harm Reduction Coordinator for Living Positive Resource Centre, the Okanagan’s HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C service organisation.
Sheila began volunteering for the centre in 1999, at the age of 14. At that time she was delivering educational presentations around HIV and AIDS. In 2004 the organisation moved towards a focus on blood-borne pathogens, and Sheila quickly adapted by expanding her knowledge and her passion to include viral hepatitis.
Sheila is an active member in her community, and takes on many roles. One of her proudest achievements was establishing a GLBT youth group in 2006, of which she is currently the facilitator. Between 2007 and 2008 Sheila was contracted by YouthCO AIDS Society to manage the Provincial HCV Youth Network.
Sheila is delighted to have the opportunity to serve on the board of the Hepatitis C Council of British Columbia.
How our organization was created.
During the fall of 2004, the BC Hepatitis C Collaborative Circle brought together a broad range of stakeholders through a series of capacity-building meetings funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada and industry sources. The meetings were held in all five of BC’s health regions and produced a comprehensive inventory of the province’s existing services and service gaps, to facilitate future planning and delivery of coordinated hepatitis C care and services.
During this process, members of the BC Hepatitis C Collaborative Circle, the Hepatitis C Society of Canada BC Chapter Network, and members of other groups recognized the need to create a united front for advancing the causes of people living with and at risk for hepatitis C. As a result, these groups came together to form the Hepatitis C Council of British Columbia which would serve as a forum for province-wide communication about hepatitis C.
The Hepatitis C Council of British Columbia (HCCBC) was officially incorporated as a society in 2007.
How our organization is funded
Currently, our main source of funding is the Public Health Agency of Canada.