Positive Peer Support from Positively UK We are delighted to continue our relationship with Positively UK with funding of £7,000 in December 2016 for Peer to Peer support. These services often provide the first opportunity a newly diagnosed individual has to meet another person who has received an HIV diagnosis and talk openly about their HIV without fear of discrimination and stigma. Expand Peer to Peer Support - Meet Johnny Johnny was first referred to Positively UK in late 2015 when we he was 16 years old. Johnny is a Wandsworth resident and newly diagnosed HIV positive from his relationships with a partner 11 years his senior. He was diagnosed early with an undetectable viral load and good physical health. However, Johnny suffers from poor mental health, and as a result of his sexuality and HIV status has become estranged from his family. Johnny was staying at his partner’s house, but at risk of being homeless. Johnny was referred to our youth worker by the Courtyard Clinic at St George’s Hospital. He met with Positively UK’s dedicated youth peer worker to discuss his new diagnosis. The youth worker was herself diagnosed at birth and has been living with HIV for 26 years. The worker was able to talk to Johnny and support him to come to terms with his HIV status. In her words HIV had been her “personal friend” now for 26 years, it was a condition that could be managed and was not a barrier to Johnny living his life and pursuing his ambitions. The youth worker also worked with our in-house benefits adviser to secure Johnny a hardship grant from THT to support his immediate needs and apply for benefits to support him in the longer term. Behind every HIV diagnosis there is a vulnerable individual... Over the following months Johnny’s engagement with our peer worker was intermittent and he would often cancel appointments or simply not show up. The peer worker persisted and was able to make contact with Johnny again to find out he had overdosed on his HIV medications. Johnny then revealed that his relationships with his partner was often abusive, and he was missing support from his family. Our peer worker finally helped Johnny accept the need for further support with his mental health and he began sessions with a psychologist at his HIV clinic.With Johnny’s agreement the peer worker then facilitated a meeting between him and his dad. Johnny’s dad was clearly struggling to come to terms with his HIV status and his knowledge was outdated believing that Johnny would become ill and die. Johnny was able to talk to his dad about HIV and his medications. His dad was also fascinated to meet someone who had lived with HIV for 26 years, understand the reality of HIV today and was glad to know Johnny had support from Positively UK. The future looks brighter... Johnny is now re-building his relationship with his mother and sister, supported by his dad. He is stable on his medication. His mental health has improved and as a result of accessing peer support he reported that his self-esteem has increased. As a result, Johnny has returned to college to complete his creative arts course, along with his English and maths A Levels. Johnny is still with his partner but stated he was planning to leave him soon.It was agreed peer support had achieved what it could at this time. Johnny was told he could come back whenever. Also in line with our protocols a peer worker is due to make contact with Johnny again in November to follow-up, ascertain if his circumstances have changed, he needs any further support and find out if he is ready to engage in any further support such as our gay men’s group.
Mildmay's Mission We have been working with Mildmay Hospital for many years and never cease to be amazed by the transformative work they do with people affected by HIV related dementia. We are very proud to have funded their computer suite for the last two years. Expand Meet Marcus... *Marcus began his journey at Mildmay as an inpatient, admitted to one of our wards having become very unwell as a result of his HIV diagnosis. Not only was his physical and cognitive health in serious decline, but he had lost his job and was in receipt of welfare benefits. When he was discharged 18 months ago he joined our Day Care service to help him continue to manage his health and integrate back into community living. When he first began to use the Wandsworth Oasis Computer Suite he wasn’t able to log onto a computer without the help of our IT Facilitator George, who had to type in the password every time for him. However, over the last year and half he has continued to attend regularly and his brain function and coordination have improved to the extent that he is able to use the facilities independently to stay on top of his welfare support claims and to continue looking for work which is a condition of the support he does receive. In fact he has excelled so much, with our support he recently started working part time and has applied to study law through an Open University course, secured funding and will begin his studies this autumn. Life could not have been transformed more for Marcus and so much of his future has been made possible thanks to technology and the support of Wandsworth Oasis. *name changed to protect confidentiality.
Food for Thought from the FoodChain We aim to support the most vulnerable people living with HIV in London. The circumstances of the people we have helped through our grant to The FoodChain range from uncertain residency, food poverty and social isolation to living on incomes of less than £100 a week. Good nutrition is vital to the immune system, so the education and physical support from The Foodchain remains vital. Expand Nutrition for Body & Soul Since receiving our grant of £11,705 in December 2016, The Food Chain has directly helped 176 people from across London and their 79 dependents access emergency food and advice in HIV nutrition tailored to their individual needs and circumstances. In line with their grant's objectives, they have given support to 69 people living with HIV and their 30 dependents, 8 of whom are Wandsworth residents. 469 grocery deliveries were arranged for the benefit of 138 households – these deliveries represent 14,028 equivalent meals made up of balanced, common and inexpensive food items tailored to the nutritional, household and medical needs. 644 meals were served at our Eating Together communal meal service to 97 individual service users. In addition to sharing a meal with their peers, they also accessed signposting information from supportive community links. We also ensured that attendees could stock up on leftover food as well as store cupboard ingredients and occasional fresh ingredients donated by local businesses to offer people respite from the worry of finding the next meal. 62 individual service users accessed practical knowledge in HIV nutrition as they attended our communal meals and class series in HIV nutrition. Altogether 30 informal short talks or in-depth classes were ran in relation to specific themes such as how to cook on a budget and keep eating during periods of ill-health, or learning about portion sizes and the benefits of calcium. The FoodChain's impact on people's lives 93% found their personalised nutritional services helpful and supportive 85% gavetheir grocery service a score of 5/5 88% reported that they are still usingtheir personalised shopping lists to help them with their meal planning 67% found that their overall physical and mental wellbeing had improved as a result of feeling able to cook for themselves and eating more nutritious food 56% reported that their adherence to medication had improved as a result of better understanding their medical and dietary needs.
Active Minds, Active Souls In December 2016, we awarded Body & Soul £4,720 towards their Active Bodies Active Souls Programme targeted at their service-users of all ages living with and closely affected by HIV This funding has enabled them to deliver a series of workshops based on their five key impact areas - physical health; mental health; psychosocial wellbeing; practical support; and productivity. Expand Highlights Since December 2016 27 unique Wandsworth residents have accessed Body & Soul a total of 179 times. Additionally, they have made 270 support calls, delivered 65 hours of 1:1 therapies and counselling sessions, and 41 hours of 1:1 casework and advocacy support, all for Wandsworth residents. Their service users tell them that Body & Soul is one of the few places where they feel safe and are able to talk about HIV. THeir services remain essential for Wandsworth residents, and our service-users across London, to access holistic, non-judgemental support. Here are a few comments from their service users to illustrate the importance of our services: I love this place, it's like my second home Since coming to Body & Soul I have been able to meet friends with the same illness and have a good support group I had stopped going out prior to Body & Soul and now I have a weekly event that I look forward to Outcomes Wandsworth residents have benefitted from group workshops, health & wellbeing seminars, 1:1 therapies, casework and advocacy support, remote peer support, and employment coaching. These programmes have supported Wandsworth residents living with HIV to achieve the following outcomes: 89% feel that they have more knowledge around health management 80% are more confident expressing their thoughts and feelings 88% have a better support network thanks to coming to Body & Soul 81% have expressed that they feel happier 92% of Wandsworth residents know more about HIV 82% are better at taking their medication, and 80% feel less lonely and isolated. The Wandsworth residents we supported this year were between 4-58 years of age, 65% were female, and 35% were male. The demographic range of attendees was as follows: 15 Black African, 4 Black British, 4 Mixed Heritage, 2 Black Caribbean, and 2 White members. Meet Brenda Brenda (not her real name) is a Wandsworth resident, 53 years of age, and has been accessing Body & Soul since 2009. Brenda has severe mobility issues which require her to use crutches at all times. Brenda recently informed us that she was often in a lot of pain and so we were able to offer her a course of reiki treatments which then developed into a holistic massage once Brenda felt comfortable with this form of hands-on therapy. Brenda has reported back to our masseuse and Therapies Coordinator, that these therapies have helped her to relax, which has decreased the pain and tension in her body. Additionally, these therapies led to Brenda showing more interest in our physical health workshops, and in August of this year she attended a session on the benefits and barriers to movement. This year alone Brenda has participated in 13 workshops through our Adult Service evenings including: ‘Dealing with disappointment’, ‘Understanding my HIV Treatment’, and ‘Nutrition: Warming Winter salads’. We will continue to provide Brenda with 1:1 complimentary therapies, and look forward to seeing her participate in and learn from our range of health and wellbeing workshops.