Weekends in the Country
posted: 20/07/2010
The next Living Proof Weekend for people with HIV is from Friday 24 - Sunday 26 September in the Staffordshire countryside, around 60 miles south of Manchester. The nltsg – National Long-Term Survivors Group - provides support to people who have been living with IV for 5 or more years.
Who can join
nltsg is open to anyone who has been diagnosed HIV positive for five years or more. They have a comprehensive inclusive membership policy, which does not discriminate on grounds of race, creed, gender, sexuality, age or disability.
Some funding help
nltsg receives no core funding and the charge for the weekend aims to cover the costs. There is funding from Elton John Aids Foundation to help some people to attend. Otherwise people either pay for themselves or can try to get a place funded - 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 of this financial assistance.
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 Weekends leaflet
Living Proof Weekends 2010 - 2012
2010
What people said
"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."
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Weekends in the Country
posted: 20/05/2010
The next Living Proof Weekend for people with HIV is from Friday 9 to Sunday 11 July in the Staffordshire countryside, around 60 miles south of Manchester. The nltsg – National Long-Term Survivors Group - provides support to people who have been living with IV for 5 or more years
Who can join
NLTSG is open to anyone who has been diagnosed HIV positive for five years or more. They have a comprehensive inclusive membership policy, which does not discriminate on grounds of race, creed, gender, sexuality, age or disability.
Some funding help
nltsg receives no core funding and the charge for the weekend aims to cover the costs. There is funding from Elton John Aids Foundation to help some people to attend. Otherwise people either pay for themselves or can try to get a place funded - 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 of this financial assistance.
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. We ask that everyone is ready by 5:45pm for the Opening Circle.
On Friday evening, we 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 we 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 Weekends leaflet
Living Proof Weekends 2010 - 2012
2011
25 - 27 March
8 - 10 July
23 - 25 Sept
16 - 18 Dec
2012
23 - 25 March
6 - 8 July
28 - 30 Sept
14 - 16Dec
What they said
"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."
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Long Term Survivors Weekends
posted: 12/11/2008
The National Long Term Survivors Group has now got a 3 year grant from the Elton John AIDS Foundation to help combat social isolation in people who have been HIV positive for longer than five years and who are unable to access local support.
They are providing a series of weekends for some people living with HIV. The weekends are not free but funding can usually be found. For example they have a fund (supported by this Elton John AIDS Foundation grant) that can pay for some people, as well as for childcare and travel. If you need help with funding ask NLTSG about the help that might be available for you.
Who can go on these weekends?
You need to have been HIV positive for 5 years and be "unable to access local support". The Group will make its own decisions on who gets places but we think people living in Cumbria, and much of Lancashire and Cheshire will be able to show there is no or very limited local HIV support available for them.
Are you in one of the priority groups?
1 Firstly, people living in rural areas where existing services are either thin on the ground or non-existent. (eg we suggest this means most of Lancashire, all Cumbria, rural Cheshire)
2 The second group is the over 50’s, which is a group that can find itself excluded from contemporary society and the social ‘scene’.
3 The third group is people who have been living with HIV for over 10 years.
4 The final group is HIV positive volunteers and workers in the HIV sector who often have difficulty accessing support and services in their local area as they try to maintain a professional relationship with other service users.
If you would like to attend an NLTSG weekend, please contact bookings@nltsg.org.uk or 0208 691 8956.
Living Proof weekend dates 12 - 14 December 2008, 3 - 5 April 2009, 10 - 12 July, 18 - 20 September, 11 - 13 December
The weekends start on Fridays at 3.30pm and finish on Sundays at about 4pm.
The weekends provide a safe, relaxed place to meet other people who have also been living with HIV and AIDS for five or more years.
A programme of activities is arranged for each weekend - group workshops, one-to-one counselling, complementary therapies - but it is entirely up to each person who attends the weekends as to whether they take part or not in these activities. Many people find the company and ability to talk freely about HIV, as well as many other issues, provides the greatest benefit.
National LT Survivors Group
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