How Your Vote for The Brigstowe Project will support people living with HIV and other long-term conditions

Posted on 30 Sep 2022 by Emily Atkinson-Dalton
There are over 105,200 people living with HIV in UK and an estimated 6,600 people who are living with the condition and unaware of it. For over 25 years, Brigstowe has been supporting people living with HIV in Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset. The outlook for people living with HIV has changed considerably during this time. With an early diagnosis and effective treatments, most people with HIV will live a near-normal lifespan. Today when a person is living with HIV and on effective treatment, it lowers the level of HIV in the blood. When the levels are extremely low it is referred to as an undetectable viral load. At this stage, HIV cannot be passed on.

 

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Despite the enormous advances in the treatment of HIV, there is still a lot of HIV-related stigma and discrimination that exists in today’s society. Brigstowe works to break down this stigma and raise awareness of HIV within the local community.

Brigstowe also supports people living with other long-term conditions. Following on from their successful HIV Peer Mentoring Programme they are now delivering Peer Support Service in other areas. As well as delivering peer support for up to 60 people living with Type 2 Diabetes per year, they are now delivering this service to up to 500 people living with Long COVID.

In January 2021 they launched Common Ambition Bristol, which is aimed at improving NHS sexual health services for people of African & Caribbean heritage. Through their leadership on the Fast-Track Cities program, which is now a coalition of 12 health, public sector and VCSE partners, they seek to end new HIV diagnoses in Bristol by 2030.

 

What Does the Brigstowe Project Do?


Brigstowe are a small, Bristol-based charity who have been providing support since 1996 to people living with, or who have been affected by, HIV in the South West of England. Their services include Advice and Support, Peer Support Group, Migrant & Asylum Support Service (MASS), and one-to-one Peer Mentoring. They also provide recently diagnosed workshops, work with professionals to change their policies and deliver HIV awareness courses in order to break down HIV-related stigma and discrimination. Through their services they aim to reduce social isolation and improve the mental wellbeing of those who need their support. They help people to live well and independently.

 

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What Services do the Brigstowe Project Provide?


Advice and Support: Their Advice and Support service is accredited through the Advice Quality Standard and includes welfare benefits, housing, employment, and physical and mental health advice for people living with HIV.

Peer Support Group: They deliver peer support for people living with the following conditions: HIV, Type 2 Diabetes and Long COVID. This support can be given online, in person or over the phone.

Migrant & Asylum Support Service: Their Migrant Service supports up to 25 HIV positive refugees, asylum seekers and victims of trafficking each year. This service offers support or advice to people subject to immigration control who are living with HIV. We also support refugees following a positive decision from the Home Office to settle in the UK. This project holds a caseload of individuals with complex physical and mental health needs, with a greater propensity for poverty due to a lack of resources and support network. The service focuses on delivering emotional and practical support, help with legal matters and a welfare fund for those in greatest need.

One-to-One Peer Mentoring: They recruit trained volunteers who are living with HIV to act as peer mentors to people living with HIV. They are there to be a listening ear, share experiences and discuss coping strategies with our clients. They have up to 20 mentors at any one time.

Common Ambition Bristol (CAB) is a major 3- year community powered project led by Brigstowe working with the African and Caribbean heritage communities in Bristol to reduce HIV diagnosis, stigma and generally improve sexual health.

 

How Can I Contact the Brigstowe Project?


You can contact them on 0117 955 5039 or you can email them at [email protected] and one of the team will get back to you as soon as possible.

 

How Can I Support the Brigstowe Project?


You can support The Brigstowe Project by taking part in the October charity poll. You can also support them through donating here.
There are a number of ways to get involved with Brigstowe. We encourage all of our supporters to wear ribbons and raise awareness of HIV on World AIDS Day (1st December). Would your colleagues wear red to support them? Would you like to organise a fundraiser to raise funds for those people living with HIV within your local community? They would love to have your support! If you would like more information on how to get involved please email [email protected].
They also recruit runners every year to take part in the Bristol 10k. If you’re a keen runner and would like to raise funds for an amazing cause then please get in touch.

 

How Can I Find Out More about The Brigstowe Project?


They are always looking for volunteers and have a list of available roles here.
If you’re living with HIV, Type 2 Diabetes or Long COVID there may be a role available that suits you, please do check out our website.
They also deliver interactive and engaging HIV awareness training to local businesses and corporate organisations; if you are interested in learning more about HIV please email [email protected].

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