Gay and Positive Support Online

posted: 01/03/2010

Terrence Higgins Trust runs a regular online support group for gay men living with HIV on gaydar.com. Here, positive men can talk to other men with HIV, share experiences of life with HIV, get support and answers to questions around HIV or sexual health.

If there's no convenient support group for HIV+ gay men in your area, or getting to a group is too much, this could be a very useful way to meet and talk with other positive gay men, and to find answers to your questions from well trained staff.

THT online staff offer confidential, non-judgemental support and information. As it's on gaydar you can chat publicly and send private messages like normal, but in the group you can also message THT workers to ask for information, advice and help.

Online groups can be useful to anyone whether you are newly diagnosed or you have lived with HIV for years.


Group date : Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday evenings
At gaydar, log in, then click on chat rooms and search for the community room calledTHT - HIV+ Groupwork chat room

The THT - HIV+ Groupwork chat room is open on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evening from 5.30pm to 8pm.
 

People living with HIV in Northwest England can ask George House Trust for advice and information online

It's Better to Know

posted: 05/11/2009

'It's better to know' is a testing campaign explaining that with modern medicine people can expect a long and healthy life with HIV - but only if you test and start treatment soon enough. Illustrated with pictures of Africans, it's produced by the African communities team at THT.

As they say, if you test negative there is more reason to saty negative, and positive or negative it is better to know.

Late HIV diagnosis is common among African people especially. Late diagnosis is not good for anyone's health prospects.

Visit the mambo website for more information - Mambo  is a healthier lifestyle magazine for Africans in England.

African AIDS Helpline 0800 0967 500

HIV Activist Claims Trafalgar Sq Plinth

posted: 29/07/2009

A HIV activist mounted Trafalgar Square's Fourth Plinth this morning as part of Antony Gormley's One & Other exhibition.

Eric Page spent part of his hour on the plinth wearing a THIVK you're still negative? T-shirt to raise awareness of the work of Terrence Higgins Trust.

THIVK is a year long campaign developed by the CHAPS partnership and launched by THT to get men to consider if they have HIV without realising. The Health Protection Agency estimates up to 10,000 gay men in Britain have HIV without knowing.

THIVK, Test and Take Control  campaign

Page, from Brighton, who has worked for THT as a sexual health outreach worker for eight years, said: "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I wanted to spend my hour on the plinth to highlight the issues of sexual health and gay men in particular as HIV is a risk for all people. I started my time on the plinth in a fabulous outfit, slowly changing my outfits until I end up, in homage to Gormley's previous work, naked. Leaving me, very literally exposed and vulnerable.

Sue Peters from Terrence Higgins Trust said: "I want to say a huge thank you to Eric for supporting us. It's now recommended that gay men test at least once a year, or after any unprotected sex. Yet around a third of gay men in England have never taken an HIV test, with the figure even higher in Scotland and Wales. It's fantastic that Eric is helping us to get the message out to men to take control and make testing for HIV a regular part of their lives in such a unique and visible way."

Watch the action live from the plinth every Friday at 7pm on Sky Arts 1/HD and online at oneandother.co.uk

The THIVK campaign and information website

Source and photo

HIV Workers Course

posted: 14/07/2009

Terrence Higgins Trust has just been approved to offer a new City & Guilds course in understanding HIV and AIDS. The course was developed as a partnership between THT and City & Guilds and it is the first of its kind. Courses will be run at locations across the UK.

The qualification is designed for people interested in HIV and AIDS or working in a role where knowledge of the issue would be beneficial to their work. It’s ideal for people who work in a variety of roles including nurses, GP reception staff, voluntary workers, probation officers, police officers, teachers, social services staff, staff in drug support services and residential care services as well as interested individuals.

Joanna Hurren Head of Function at City & Guilds said “The course could help to open the door to a career in the HIV sector, or could help to support a person’s career development if already working in a role where it’s beneficial to be aware of the issues relating to HIV and AIDS. We’re very pleased to have given THT the official accreditation they need to run this course. HIV is a complex issue and it makes sense to have the experts delivering the qualification.”

This distance learning based course is structured into three units with 20 hours of study time for each unit. Areas of study include: 

• Transmission and prevention of HIV
• Stigma and discrimination in HIV and AIDS
• Managing HIV and AIDS

Jackie Redding, Director of Social Care and Service Development for THT said: “We’re delighted to be running this course. It aims not only to raise awareness of HIV but also to reduce the stigma that still exists. I’d encourage anyone interested to get in touch and find out more.”

The dates of the first courses are awaited, but to sign up or get further information visit the City & Guilds website or contact Justin Barrett on 020 7812 1727 or email THT

Sir Nick - THT Chief Knighted

posted: 05/01/2009

Nick Partridge, one of the UK's HIV sector leaders, who has strived to transform attitudes towards HIV and gay men and women in society has been knighted.
Nick Partridge, the chief executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust, was recognised for his 20-year service to healthcare.

HIV leadership
Sir Nick said his knighthood in the New Year list was "great recognition of the pioneering work of Terrence Higgins Trust."
The Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) was the first charity to be set up in response to the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. George House Trust is the second oldest surviving HIV charity.
 

THT's roots were in the gay community and, for many years, the HIV epidemic in the UK affected mainly gay men. As the shape of the epidemic changed, so did the THT, under the guidance of Sir Nick.
He joined the Trust in 1985 as the office manager, one of only two full-time paid posts, and became its head in 1991. He was tasked with overcoming public anti-gay prejudice and convincing politicians about the urgency of the HIV situation.
He has campaigned hard for research funding and progress and now, thanks to pioneering medical work and the discovery of antiretroviral therapy in the 1990s, the diagnosis of HIV is no longer a death sentence.
 

Influential
In 2004, Nick was appointed a Commissioner of the Healthcare Commission, the independent inspectorate responsible for reviewing the quality of healthcare in England.
In 2006, he was declared one of the 100 most influential gay and lesbian people in Britain by the Independent.
He is also chair of INVOLVE, an advisory group promoting public involvement in NHS, public health and social care research.

Sir Nick said: "I'm absolutely delighted. This is great recognition of the pioneering work of Terrence Higgins Trust, the importance of patient and public involvement in health research through INVOLVE and the impact of the health watchdog, the Healthcare Commission. I'm very privileged to work with three amazing organisations and to be honoured in this way."

Edwin J Bernard, editor of HIV Treatment Update, said: "It is remarkably significant that someone who has worked so hard in the HIV sector has finally been recognised.
"After 25 years of the Terrence Higgins Trust it is about time. Much of the media focus has been on the international Aids problem. I hope this shines the spotlight on HIV/Aids in the UK."
 

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