THT (Terrence Higgins Trust) has been awarded £262,849 by the Big Lottery Fund to create "Informed Passions", a four year project to research and develop sexual health support services for gay men in the region.

As part of the project THT is looking to recruit seven Expert Volunteers from all areas of the community to get involved with "Informed Passions". Once recruited and trained this team of local champions will set to work to find out how THT can best support the local community’s sexual health needs. The charity is keen to ensure that sexual health services continue to keep up with and meet the needs of people in Brighton and Hove. One of the best ways to do this is by listening to the experiences, knowledge and views of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) people in the local community.
 
Justin Harbottle, Community Development & Volunteer Co-ordinator from Terrence Higgins Trust said:
"'Informed Passions' is all about putting the local community first. We have an amazingly diverse local community, with many different sexualities, genders, ethnicities and age groups. But our unique community also has very specific sexual health needs. Brighton and Hove has the highest rate of diagnosed HIV infections outside London, and new diagnoses have more then doubled in 6 years. Residents of the city are also disproportionately affected by all STIs compared to the rest of the South East region.
 
“You don’t need to be an expert in sexual health, all that we ask is that you’re passionate about supporting and building links within the local LGBT community. So, if you want to become a local sexual health champion, to make a real difference to your community, and to give your CV a huge boost with a fantastic range of experience and training, THT’s ‘Informed Passions’ wants to hear from you!”

Once it’s up and running "Informed Passions" will start work on a piece of field research which will guide the creation of new services and support mechanisms to improve the sexual health and reduce stigma in Brighton and Hove.

"Informed Passions" will launch on Thursday July 15 at THT’s centre at 61 Ship Street, Brighton from 1-2pm.
 
For more information on "Informed Passions" call Justin Harbottle on 07971 316609 or email: justin.harbottle@tht.org.uk

For more information about THT view:
www.tht.org.uk