A fond farewell – celebrating the end of an era with Vic Perri

It’s with a mix of joy and sadness that the staff, board and members of Living Positive Victoria, along with many of our partner organisations bid farewell to Vic Perri upon the announcement of his retirement at the end of February.

Vic has been engaged in the Victorian HIV response for three decades and a huge part of Living Positive Victoria for two of them. His undeniable impact has also influenced the national and international response to HIV/AIDS via this engagement.

As a long time member of the Treatment Officers Network and treatment interactive events in the early days of the response, Vic was central to sharing anti retro-viral treatment information and building health literacy among people living with HIV in an engaging and fun atmosphere alongside his partner in crime and co=host Vannessa Wagner.

Just last year at the international AIDS conference in Munich he provided multiple presentations and activities in the Silver Zone dedicated to HIV and Ageing, something that he may not have envisaged in our own response 30 years ago. His engagement with the National Ageing Network via NAPWHA has continued to develop a best-practice approach to ageing well with HIV and challenges arising from it. A partnership with Thorne Harbor Health with the Taking Charge program has also provided a space for older folks to address other comorbidities impacting health outcomes as well as developing community connectedness for people ageing with HIV.

Vic co-founded the Positive Leadership Development Institute Australia/New Zealand in 2013 (PLDI) which has developed lived experience leadership across the HIV response and more importantly in the lives of many of its participants. Starting one of our flagship services, the Phoenix workshops back in 2007 remains a personal highlight for Vic as it has made a beneficial impact for so many recently diagnose folks with HIV over the last 18 years. This program has continued to evolve and adapt with changes in response, but such is his influence, that it will continue to echo across many of our programs and support offerings for years to come.

CEO statement

For so many of our long-term clients and members Vic’s role in peer support and connection via group facilitation of many of our program offerings has been not just life affirming, but life changing. All our current staff team, including myself, have all arrived with Vic as part of our team, providing support, advice and invaluable historical knowledge, which he has freely shared to the benefit of us all. I cannot speak highly enough of the support I have received from Vic in my time here as CEO and am looking forward to strengthening our friendship in the years ahead of us.

You don’t replace a Vic Perri and those years of peer and partnership expertise, but we can preserve what was done well to propel us forward in supporting older Victorian’s living with HIV. We are genuinely proud and happy for Vic as he takes a well-earned break, but worry not, we will continue to benefit from Vic’s engagement and experience as he joins the Positive Speakers Bureau and continues to facilitate other workshops like Taking Charge, in partnership with organisations right across the country. The key difference will be that it will be at his pace and his choice to step in and out as he begins to enjoy his retirement and reap the well-earned rewards of it.

For those of you wanting to say thanks and farewell in person, Vic will be attending our Planet Positive Social on Saturday March 15th at the Laird Hotel. You can register to attend this event here. Register early as places are limited and filling up fast.