Exciting new volunteering opportunity for African people!

posted: 29/11/2011

Building on the success of the last year, George House Trust is looking for enthusiastic, committed and reliable people from African communities who are living with HIV, to join our team of African Support Volunteers.

African Peer Support is the perfect volunteering opportunity for anyone who feels that they have wisdom to share, or if you are looking to gain voluntary experience of working in the health and social care sector. In fact, many of our previous volunteers have now gone on to paid work or vocational training as a result of their developing their experience through volunteering here at George House Trust.

You will receive full training to enable you to provide one-to-one support to other African people who are living with HIV through things like:
• sharing your own experiences to help other individuals
• providing basic information about HIV
• offering emotional support

By volunteering on this project, you could help change someone’s life for the better. That is because nobody understands what it is like to be an African person living with HIV more than you.
To apply for this role, fill in this simple application form and return it to George House Trust by Tuesday 13th December, 2011.

Successful candidates will be invited for a volunteer interview on either 17th or 18th January, 2012 and those chosen at interview will be invited to induction sessions on 30th January, 3rd February and 6th February, 2012

For further information contact Susie

Please read a copy of the volunteer role description here

You can apply online here for the role or you can download copies of the application fom
 

New African Peer Support

posted: 03/03/2011

Peer Support, from other Africans living with HIV who are well trained as volunteers, is now offered to Africans with HIV. George House Trust has recruited and trained a carefully selected group to help support others in similar situations.

We've produced a postcard to promote the new African HIV Peer Support Service with posters for HIV clincs and other services. 

African HIV Peer Support means ...

Support from someone who knows what you’re going through.
 

It can really help to talk to someone, in confidence, who’s been in the same situation as you.

There are times when we all need support from someone. Maybe you’ve just been diagnosed HIV positive, are thinking about starting HIV treatments, or are worried about telling other people close to you about your HIV status?

Our African Peer Support Service gives you the chance to meet in a friendly, relaxed and completely confidential place with a fully trained George House Trust volunteer, who is also an African living with HIV in England.
 

They can listen to your worries, share their own experiences, and offer information and support.
 

How to get African Peer Support

If you would like to meet with a African Peer Support Volunteer, please talk with one of our Services team at George House Trust on 0161 274 4499 or email the services team.

Supported by Volunteering Fund for Health and Social Care 
 

Weekends in the Country

posted: 14/02/2011

The next Living Proof weekend, for people who have lived with HIV for five years or longer, will be from Friday 25 to Sunday 27 March, near Stafford, south of Manchester.
 

The nltsg – National Long-Term Survivors Group - provides support to people who have been living with HIV for 5 or more years. nltsg is open to anyone who has been diagnosed HIV positive for five years. They welcome everyone as members.
 

Weekends : some funding help
nltsg receives no funding and charges for the Living Proof weekend cover the costs - £170. Help may be available for some people - if you live in NW England ask our services team about this.

Thanks to a generous award from the Elton John AIDS Foundation, nltsg offers a limited number of places to people who have not attended a nltsg weekend before. To qualify, you must

• be either over 50, OR
• be socially isolated (living in a rural location, low HIV prevalence area or otherwise unable to use local HIV support services), OR
• be a worker (paid or volunteer) in the HIV support sector.
Please contact them for details.

Weekends
The weekends are a safe space for people to come together for peer support, sharing experiences and discussing issues. Professional facilitators hold discussion groups and workshops, but users decide what is discussed.
Complementary therapists offer a wide range of treatments throughout the weekend.
All activities are optional.

Weekend details
The weekends run from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon, with people arriving from 3:30pm on Friday. They expect everyone is ready by 5:45pm for the Opening Circle.
On Friday evening, they hold a 'Getting to Know You' session, which gives everyone the opportunity to talk in small groups about their reasons for attending, their hopes and expectations for the weekend, as well as voicing any concerns they may have.

Throughout Saturday and on Sunday morning they hold discussion groups, workshops and complementary therapy sessions.

There is plenty of free time during the weekend, which offers an opportunity to relax and network. Many find this the most beneficial aspect of the weekend, as it provides the chance to talk, listen and learn in an informal but safe environment with other people living with HIV.

The weekend is fully catered and there is a bar available in the evening. Most dietary requirements can be accommodated.

The weekends end with a Closing Circle at around 2:45pm on Sunday afternoon.

Bookings by email
 

07967 430797 by phone

by post :

National Long Term Survivors Group
BM LTSG
London WC1N 3XX

Living Proof Weekend dates

2011:

25 - 27 March
8 - 10 July
23 - 25 September
16 - 18 December

2012:

23 - 25 March
6 - 8 July
28 - 30 September
14 - 16 December
 

What people said about their Living Proof weekend experience

"Just what I needed at this time, a lovely group of people, everyone I met here was friendly and I did not feel excluded."

"The best thing was getting to make new friends and meeting old ones; meeting other positive people and coming together as a group "

"I enjoy the weekend away from home. As a long-term survivor, I enjoy passing on my experiences and learning from new and old members. It goes a long way in helping a person living with HIV, and I leave refreshed and wanting to do more."

"The best thing was discovering other people's example of how they deal with the virus: peer support - sharing experiences - able to relax completely - a chance for personal recharge."

New role for African volunteers at George House Trust

posted: 16/12/2010

George House Trust is launching an exciting new peer support service for people living with HIV from African communities. The project is funded by the Volunteering Fund and aims to reduce the stigma and isolation that many people living with HIV from African communities experience. Trained volunteers will offer peer support in a range of settings through sharing their own experiences of living with HIV, providing basic information about HIV and offering emotional support.

We are currently recruiting volunteers for the project and would like to encourage HIV positive people from African communities to apply.

The deadline for applications is Friday 14th January 2011 and we will be delivering our first Peer Support Volunteer Training Course  on the 21st, 24th and 26th January 2011.

If you would like to talk about getting involved as a volunteer, please speak to Laura on 0161 274 5653 or email: volunteering@ght.org.uk

Click here to read the volunteer role description.

Click here to apply to be a volunteer with this project.

You can also download the application form here.

Positive Steps Bury

posted: 09/08/2010

Andrew, a gay man living in the Bury area, is setting up a social and support group for HIV positive gay men living around the whole of the north side of Manchester. Are you interested?
 

He hopes the group will be a chance to socialise and get to know other positive gay men, share information, advice and support, feel less isolated and share ideas on how to challenge stigma locally.
 

Interested men who would like to meet in Bury to plan future events, or who just want to find out about what’s arranged, should contact Andrew by email, or mobile 078 95194 575, or leave a message on the website contact page
 

Positive Steps Bury aims to develop and provide activities and services for gay men living with HIV in Northern Greater Manchester – the Bury, Bolton, Rochdale, Oldham, and Wigan districts and nearby parts of Lancashire.
 

The plan is for a social drop in - an opportunity to share experiences, views and ideas as well as access information and advice, organising activities together - visiting places of interest, walking, cycling, away weekends and other activities, and going to social events such as theatre, drinks, meals out, bingo, etc.
 

Positive Steps Bury