News: 03/2024 | George House Trust

BANK HOLIDAY WEEKEND OPENING HOURS

Services During The Easter Bank Holiday Weekend

 

George House Trust services will be unavailable between 5:00 pm on Thursday 28th March and 9:30 am on Tuesday 2nd April.

 

Below are some telephone numbers if you need support over the Easter bank holiday weekend:

 

 

If you phone or email George House Trust between 5:00 pm on Thursday and 9:30 am on Tuesday, we will contact you on April 2nd.

 

March 28th 2024

Thursday, 28 March, 2024

WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH: LISA'S STORY

 

My name is Lisa. I am 48 years old and was diagnosed HIV positive in 2005 towards the end of a 15-year long imprisonment by drug addiction. Luckily at this time I had already been working to change my perspective on life, which meant that, when the nurse gave me my diagnosis on that wintery November day, my first thoughts where not what some may expect but instead, were,

 

“Thank god I am in a country that gives me access to medication!”

“Thankfully I have not got Hepatitis C as well” (which would have complicated treatment).

“Will I be eligible for a disabled bus/rail pass?”

 

In spite, of my initial buoyancy, (deflection with humour or some may call it denial), reality soon hit. Feelings of stigma, fear and isolation crept in. I also did not understand how I had contracted HIV. Despite my being a drug user and being in a high-risk group, I did not consider myself high risk.

 

I had only had unprotected sex with my long-term partner who I had been together with for several years. It was an abusive relationship and I later found out that he was HIV positive himself and had felt it unnecessary to tell me. Thankfully, I was eventually able to escape from this several years after my diagnosis.

 

In the meantime, I needed to find others who understood my situation and I found George House Trust and the women’s group. It was a long road of rebuilding my own self-esteem and learning how to take responsibility for my own feelings, consequences, and life in general.

 

I have no doubt that my amazingly beautiful and empowering upbringing has founded my resilience, strength of character and personality. I have my incredible Mum and Dad to thank for this.

 

After causing much harm to my family and community, I now try and hope to be a loving and caring daughter, girlfriend, neighbour and friend to others. Within this, I have also learnt to be loving and caring to me too.

 

I am 18 years drug free (including alcohol). 18 years into my diagnosis I am supporting others with an amazing career as a drug worker and an addiction psychotherapist, working with drug users and their families.

 

I also mentor others outside of work with complex needs – addiction, mental health, abuse issues, sex workers and women coming out of prison etc.

 

With George House Trust’s support, along with the support and mentorship from others in recovery from drug addiction, I have come to understand that my HIV status does not define me. It is part of my life and can be used either as an excuse to stay stuck and live in self-pity and resentment or as a reason to live the best most positive, productive life I can have.

 

22 March 2024

Friday, 22 March, 2024

JOB VACANCY - AGEING WELL OFFICER [LIVERPOOL]

 

14 hours per week

 

Salary - NJC SCP 10 £25,545 (0.4 FTE).  Actual salary £10,218

 

As we are expanding our support for older people living with HIV, we’re recruiting for an Ageing Well Officer, who will be based in Liverpool, to join our Ageing Well team.

 

This role is an exciting opportunity to develop relationships with other VCSE organisations in Liverpool, as well as connect older people who are living with HIV to relevant support and services.

 

George House Trust has been providing dedicated support to older people living with HIV through our Age+ project since 2021. As a result of effective treatment people are living into older age and we want all people living with HIV to age well, and with confidence.

  

The ideal candidate will have a good knowledge of voluntary, community and social enterprises sector organisations in Liverpool.

 

Whilst it is not an essential criteria for the role, we always actively encourage applications from people living with HIV.

 

George House Trust supports a wide community facing diverse challenges and we need a diverse team to help tackle them. We particularly welcome applications from those currently underrepresented in our workforce which includes people of colour.

 

You will find a recruitment pack with a detailed person specification and job description here.

 

You can apply for this role in writing in MS Word format (please don’t PDF your application) stating, in no more than 2,000 words, how you meet the ‘application’ criteria in the Person Specification you will find in the recruitment pack together with an up-to-date copy of your C.V.

 

Please also complete and submit our demographic monitoring form which you can find here. The form will be stored separately from your application and will not be used as part of the shortlisting process. 

 

Your completed application and C.V. should be submitted to recruitment@ght.org.uk by 5pm on Friday 29th March 2024.

 

Interviews will be held on Monday 8th March 2024.

 

George House Trust is a Disability Confident, Living Wage and Open To All employer.

 

March 1st 2024

Friday, 1 March, 2024

EXTERNAL EVALUATOR

 

Project Name: Ageing Well
Commissioning Organisation: George House Trust
Project Duration: February 2024 – February 2027
Contract Term:  April 2024 – February 2027
Contract Value: £3,750 (£1,250 per year) Location: Greater Manchester
Contract Type: Self-employed contractor, engaged on a ‘contract for services’ basis

 

George House Trust wishes to work with an External Evaluator contractor to provide in-depth analysis of our Ageing Well project.  

 

Ageing Well is a three-year project, funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, which aims to empower people who are aged 50+ and who are living with HIV to:

  • Improve overall wellbeing.
  • Improve emotional health and wellbeing.
  • Increase connectivity and reduced feelings of isolation.
  • Increase confidence in ageing.
  • Increase confidence to manage HIV.
  • Increase involvement in volunteering activities.

The project will also continue to offer HIV awareness training to residential and domiciliary care providers and organisations working with older people, with the aim to;

  • Increase knowledge and understanding amongst staff of the issues of people ageing with HIV.
  • Increase shared learning amongst organisations providing support to people aged 50 and living with HIV.

 

You can download the full External Evaluator brief, including submission details here

 

Deadline for submissions: Monday 8th April 2024 – 5pm.
Interviews for shortlisted candidates: Friday 12th April 2024.

 

The successful candidate must be willing to attend quarterly Project Advisory Group meetings.
 
If you would like additional information or have any further questions, please email Anna Hughes, Programme Coordinator for Ageing Well via email: anna@ght.org.uk

 

March 9th 2024

Thursday, 21 March, 2024

LGBT History Month 2024 - Under The Scope With Dr Chris Ward 

 

Growing up as a gay man in the 1980s and 90s was a scary time. I remember a lot of fear about HIV and stigma in the media. When I came out to my parents the first thing they mentioned was fear of HIV.

 

I have always wanted to help the community and when I started at medical school volunteered with the LGF (now LGBT Foundation) to distribute condoms at Pride. By the time I started university, antiretroviral treatment had progressed and highly active combination therapy was already saving lives.

 

My own experiences with shame around sex and HIV anxiety motivated me to explore sexual health as a career. Working in Infectious Diseases at North Manchester General solidified this.

 

Now, as a consultant in sexual health and HIV at Hathersage I have been lucky enough to have worked through huge breakthroughs in HIV prevention and treatment.

 

I remember when the first PrEP trials showed enormous success at reducing HIV transmissions, and the landmark Partners study providing and inspiring the Undetectable=Untransmissable message. This revolutionised people’s lives and helped with anxieties around sex, shame and stigma.

 

Now we are lucky enough to have multiple different HIV treatments, that are well-tolerated and some come in the form of one pill a day. With injectable treatments we have been able to offer even more options and choice, seeing most people only once every six months.

 

I enjoy working with patient and community groups like George House Trust. We keep momentum and pressure going to fund sexual health services, we drive forward innovation and new drug developments and we tackle the stigma around HIV that still exists.

 

Dr Chris Ward, Sexual Health and HIV Consultant for Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust

2 February 2024 

Friday, 2 February, 2024

LGBT History Month 2024 - Under The Scope With Paul Fairweather

 

I remember in the earliest days of the epidemic, there was no treatment for HIV. Friends of mine who were HIV positive developed AIDS and died.

 

Then, the earliest drugs like AZT came along but these had awful side-effects and weren’t very effective. I had friends who had to stop taking these drugs because they made them so ill.

 

Thankfully HIV medication today is completely effective and easy to take. People living with HIV can take just one tablet a day and see their HIV consultant every six months for a check-up.

 

In the 1980s, as a member of Manchester AIDSline which later became George House Trust, I attended meetings at the old Monsall Hospital. We met with HIV consultants to talk about the importance of working and consulting with people living with HIV.

 

There were many heated debates about the best way forward, but it was so important that we were seen and heard at these meetings.

 

It was also through the activities of ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) that HIV activists put pressure on the medical profession to change their policies and procedures and fast-track new treatments for HIV.

 

There was an ACT UP group in Manchester who organised a range of campaigns. These included throwing condoms over the wall of Strangeways Prison because the prison refused to give them to prisoners and picketing the Regional Health Authority to increase funding to HIV support and advocacy groups.

 

I believe that our HIV activism fundamentally changed the relationship between the medical profession and patients. A mutual, respectful relationship is now the blueprint for how consultants should work with patients experiencing HIV and indeed any medical condition.  

 

Paul Fairweather, Positive Speaker Development Worker at George House Trust 

1 February 2024 

Thursday, 1 February, 2024

Paul Fairweather MBE

Paul Fairweather has been awarded an MBE in the King’s New Year Honours List 2023

 

George House Trust co-founder and LGBT activist, Paul Fairweather, has been awarded an MBE for services to people with disabilities and the LGBT community in the North West in the King’s New Year Honours List 2023.

 

Paul, who is a renowned HIV activist, LGBT rights champion and ambassador for equality, has been awarded the MBE for his life’s commitment towards promoting inclusion, advocating for equality and challenging hate. His colleagues and friends at George House Trust are all so pleased that his work’s been recognised in this way.

 

In the early 1980s Paul was at the forefront of the community response to the growing HIV pandemic among gay men in Manchester and across the North West, organising meetings, writing articles in the gay press and lobbying for much-needed support services for people diagnosed with HIV. His work was entirely voluntary and motivated by the experiences of many of his friends and the wider LGBTQ+ community who, as many lives were already being lost, were fearful and in need of information and advice.   

 

Paul continues to be involved with George House Trust as the Positive Speakers project lead, supporting people living with HIV to use their voice, tell their story and to tackle the HIV stigma that still exists. He works with many people who’ve experienced the sharp end of HIV stigma and supports them to realise their potential to change people’s hearts and minds, unleashing their power of their own story telling to help them grow and lead their own activism.

 

On being awarded the honour, Paul said:

“My gay activism began in 1974 and my HIV activism in 1984. Today, I am still an activist and I see this MBE as recognition of the work that not only I, but thousands of others, have done to help create a very different world. A world where living with HIV holds no one back. A world where prejudice and discrimination are challenged. A world where disabled people and LGBT people have far greater equality.”

 

Our Chief Executive, Darren Knight is delighted that Paul's work has been recognised and he said:

“I’ve known Paul for many years through his work to promote LGBTQ+ inclusion and tackle HIV stigma in all its guises in Manchester, across the North West and beyond. Working alongside Paul, I’m inspired by his determination to do all he can to make things better for others. I don’t use these words lightly, but he’s an absolute legend. He inspires me in my work every day – he has done since I started working in the LGBTQ+ and HIV sector 17 years ago. His MBE is more than deserved.”

 

Everyone at George House Trust recognises the value and impact of people using their voice to inspire others. If you're living with HIV or an ally and want to get involved in our work, have a look at the volunteer space on the website to see how you can get involved. https://ght.org.uk/volunteer

Saturday, 30 December, 2023

Access to hair, beauty and barbering is everyone's right. 

 

George House Trust is excited to launch a new awareness raising campaign that aims to tackle HIV stigma and discrimination in the hair, beauty and barbering sector. 

 

During August 2023 we conducted a survey about peoples’ experiences and received over 400 responses from across the UK. This was followed by focus groups with people who access our services and a round-table discussion with people living with HIV, and industry body representatives.

 

Based on our findings, we're launching a new campaign on social media that aims to challenge the industry wide stigma and discrimination.

 

You can find out more about our research and the campaign here.

 

 

Thursday, 5 October, 2023

BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Saluting Our Sisters For Black History Month 2023 

 

This Black History Month, I am saluting all my sisters who are living and thriving with HIV. I salute my HIV activist sisters who are fighting HIV stigma.

 

I went into denial when I got my diagnosis. It wasn’t a conscious decision; I was overwhelmed, and the diagnosis felt like I was drowning. On reflection, I was grieving, and I truly had a lot to understand and come to terms with. 

 

HIV now is about managing my medication and my life choices. My new reality is that as long as I take my medication, I am well, I can’t pass the virus on. Undetectable Equals Untranssmissable or U=U.

 

So why the activism?  Well, most people don’t know I can’t pass HIV on thanks to the treatment I take.  Not only do the public not know this but also a lot of people with HIV don’t know it. It blights and shapes lives for all of us.

 

Stigma and discrimination mean that people live in fear of a positive diagnosis, in fear of the medication, what people will do to them if they know, they live in fear of rejection. Whilst “the truth is out there”, sadly most people struggle to find it as they get lost in information overload.

 

So, for me activism is about setting the record straight, as best as I can.  Sometimes in the big stuff, like marching to end stigma and discrimination, but often it’s in the small stuff like reminding people that HIV and AIDS are not the same thing. 

 

My biggest drivers are around changing people’s perception and experience of HIV. Fortunately, as the Women’s Activity Officer at George House Trust, I support women to figure out what living well with HIV means to them. 

 

Women are offered opportunities to support each other through counselling, peer support, drop-in’s and workshops. 

 

We can grieve over the diagnosis but also learn how to manage our medication, our relationships and stigma so that we go back into our communities more confidently.

 

It doesn’t mean the journey is easy but that women are more willing to challenge the choices and beliefs they had about living with HIV.

 

Yvonne Richards-Cooper 

 

October 5th 2023 

Thursday, 5 October, 2023

Our new Volunteer Strategic Plan sets out three clear goals and how we will achieve them so we can continue as a successful volunteer-involving organisation. 

 

George House Trust's vision for volunteering is clear. We will ensure volunteers receive recognition for their contribution and benefit from a positive and nurturing experience within an inclusive and collaborative team.

 

You can read more about our plans for the George House Trust volunteer programme here

 

You can view our current volunteer roles here

 

13th July 2023 

Thursday, 13 July, 2023

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Living with HIV? Want to talk to us?
Call 0161 274 4499 or email: talk@ght.org.uk