Healing House is a wellness spa designed to fight HIV stigma and demonstrate how an HIV-positive person’s touch has the power to be healing, rather than threatening. The world’s first HIV-positive spa was launched to underline the fundamental human need for touch, its therapeutic benefits, and how it’s often withheld from people with HIV. Eighteen HIV-positive volunteers were trained to perform neck, back and shoulder massages. To attract the press, an essential oil was sent to over 200 media along with a certificate for a free massage.
On November 29, Casey House is launching Healing House, the world’s first pop-up HIV+ spa in Toronto, Canada. A recent study commissioned by Casey House revealed that half of Canadians and almost half of Americans would be nervous to find out they’d come in contact with someone living with HIV/AIDS. Healing House will explore the power of compassion through touch to address the stigma experienced by people living with HIV/AIDS. While 88% of Canadians agree Canada is a compassionate country, more than half of the population would not be comfortable touching someone living with HIV/AIDS. Casey House was founded on compassion and this new campaign will encourage people to look inward and explore how understanding they truly are, by revealing what North Americans really think about HIV/AIDS.