Diagnosed 7 Years Plus Event

posted: 10/08/2010

How we think and feel about HIV, and our needs for support may change, the longer we have had HIV. This is your chance to meet up with others, share your experiences of living with a HIV diagnosis for seven or more years, and to learn from others.

If you were diagnosed over 7 years ago, this is specially for you and others in the same position. Are there different support needs as you gain more years of experience with HIV? 
 

Lynda Shentall – Director of Services is leading this event, and you can simply turn up on the evening. If you have never been to George House Trust before, please call us first - 0161 274 4499.

When, Where

Wednesday 15 September

6.00pm to 8.00pm

George House Trust, 77 Ardwick Green North, Manchester

Need more information?

For more information call Lynda on 0161 274 5652 or email her.

Snacks and travel

There will be light refreshments and the normal travel expenses.
 

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."
 

Ask Candidates about Free Prescriptions

posted: 13/04/2010

One and a half years after Gordon Brown promised, here in Manchester, free prescriptions for people with long term conditions including cancer, the government has still not prepared new rules for Parliament to approve, apart from for cancer. There are many people with HIV who have to pay prescription charges. Some people are destitute, such as some migrants, and other people are on very low incomes. Some people are forced to choose between basics - eating and heating, and paying for treatment.

Help make sure all the election candidates know people care about free prescriptions are for people with long term conditions like HIV. Politicians are busy trying to win our votes, so it's the perfect time to make sure they know you want this pledge met by the next government - whoever they are.

Here are three easy things you can do to keep up the pressure:

Tell them on the doorstep - local candidates will be knocking on doors asking what matters to you in this election and aiming to convince you that they'll represent your views. Not many people will be talking about the unfair prescription charges for people with conditions like MS, Parkinsons disease and arthritis. Be original and tell them that you care about this issue. If you or a member of your family is directly affected by a long-term condition, you could tell them about it - that will really leave an impression.

Go to an election meeting - There will be question and answer sessions, known as hustings, in your area. There could even be a health-specific hustings. Ask the candidates whether they will support free prescriptions for people with long-term conditions. Promises of support that candidates make will be a matter of public record so make sure you take notes so we can hold them to their promises after the election. Check your local papers for details of election meetings with candidates.

Influence the leaders' TV debates - You can suggest a question for the three TV debates between Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg. Why not ask them whether they will support the health of millions of people with long-term conditions by scrapping charges for the prescriptions they need to stay well? Click on these links to submit your questions to ITV News , Sky News and BBC News.

Tell us what happens

Please tell the campaigners at THT if you get any commitments from candidates by emailing
Visit for more information the Prescription Promise campaign 

 

Living Proof Weekends 2010

posted: 20/01/2010

Living Proof Weekends are run by National Long Term Survivors Group (nltsg), for people who have been diagnosed with HIV for at least five years. The weekends normally cost £170 but some free places are available – for anyone living in the Stockport Council area, and the Elton John Aids Foundation helps other people on low incomes. Other Councils may also be willing to fund places from their AIDS Support Grant budget.
 

NLTSG organises four “Living Proof” weekend retreats each year in rural Staffordshire – which is around 50 miles south of Manchester.

The weekends provide a safe environment for people to come together to benefit from peer support, share experiences and discuss issues that are affecting them. There are discussions and workshops which people at the weekends decide what to discuss, and these are then facilitated by professionals.
Complementary therapists offer a wide range of treatments throughout the weekend and usually one of the facilitators is a trained counsellor. All activities are optional.
 

The weekends run from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon, with members arriving from 3.30pm on Friday. They expect everyone to be present by 5:45pm for the opening circle.
 

Living Proof Weekends in 2010

• 26 – 28 March
• 9 – 11 July
• 24 – 26 September
• 17 – 19 December

Download the details here
 

Elton John funding details here
 

Stockport residents: for attendance fee and travel costs all you need to do is contact the service - client contact number 0161 474 3636
 

Good for Treatment-Experienced Youngsters

posted: 10/11/2009

More excellent news from France, this time for children and young people people with drug-resistant HIV due to taking many HIV drugs – you can reach an undetectable viral load with a new three drug combination - the results are almost as good as starting treatment for the first time.
 

At the end of October news of the same combination's success with adults appeared.

The French study involved twelve children taking a combination of HIV treatment that included darunavir / ritonavir (Prezista), etravirine (Intelence), and raltegravir (Isentress). All twelve children had extensive resistance to anti-HIV drugs.

Nevertheless, after a year of treatment, all but one had a viral load below 400 copies/ml, and average CD4 cell count had increased from 124 cells/mm3 to over 500 cells/mm3.

None of the children developed a serious HIV-related illness or died, and only one stopped treatment because of side-effects.
 

The researchers describe these results as “remarkable”.

Source