Day: October 30, 2012

HIV and sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust is opening the doors of its office in Brighton for a week-long marathon of HIV testing this November, as the charity launches England’s first ever National HIV Testing Week.

The charity will be offering free HIV testing without prior appointment for gay and bisexual men in Brighton & Hove and the wider Sussex area every day from Monday 26 to Thursday November 29 between 11am and 8pm.

Gay men are one of the groups most disproportionately affected by HIV in the UK, with one in seven gay men in Brighton living with HIV. However 24 per cent of those people remain undiagnosed. Someone who is diagnosed late, after a point at which they should have started treatment, is nine times more likely to die within a year of receiving their diagnosis than someone who tests in good time. In addition, undiagnosed HIV is a key factor driving the epidemic among gay men, with the majority of onward transmission coming from men who are unaware that they have the infection.

National HIV Testing Week, which is planned to be an annual event, is being co-ordinated through HIV Prevention England (HPE), a partnership of community organisations funded by the Department of Health to carry out national HIV prevention work in England among communities at an increased risk of infection. It forms the centrepiece of HPE’s autumn campaign Think HIV, which aims to encourage gay and bisexual men to test more regularly for the virus.

To take part in the campaign, gay and bisexual men can visit:

thinkHIV

and complete a short survey about their sex life, to receive personalised advice about how regularly they should be testing for HIV.

Ross Boseley, Health Promotion Coordinator for Terrence Higgins Trust in Brighton, said:

“By opening up our centre for a week of free walk-in testing, we want to remind gay and bisexual men that it really is best to test. Sexually active gay and bisexual men should aim to test for HIV at least once a year, and more regularly they have a high number of partners, yet there are still thousands across the UK who don’t know their HIV status.

“We hope to see lots of people coming through our doors throughout the week. We also hope that the new initiative will get people thinking more about testing, not just during the week, but all year round.”

Testing is done using a finger-prick blood test, with the results provided within one hour. Those who attend the clinic will be given information and support before and after the test, and anyone who tests positive will be referred immediately to a specialist clinic. Terrence Higgins Trust staff will also provide free condoms, and information and advice on safer sex.

Terrence Higgins Trust’s Brighton office at 61 Ship Street, Brighton, BN1 1AE will be open from Monday 26 until Thursday November 29 from 11am to 8pm for gay and bisexual men who want to take an HIV test.

No prior appointment will be required. For more information about services and support available at Terrence Higgins Trust’s Brighton centre, please call 01273 764 200

Or email: info.brighton@tht.org.uk

My name is Chris Brown, and I’m one of the two Directors of Grassroots Suicide Prevention, a Brighton-based suicide prevention non-profit organisation.

I’d like to tell you a little bit about what we do and why.  We’re a registered charity that’s been trading as a company since 2006, and we are experts in suicide prevention and mental health promotion.

Our vision is that no one will contemplate suicide alone.  There will be someone in every community with the skills and confidence to help prevent someone taking their own life.

We believe that:

• Suicide is a community health problem.
• Anyone can think about suicide, and anyone can learn how to help.
• Suicide is a very preventable death.

Honest and direct talk about suicide is the key to its prevention.

Grassroots teaches suicide prevention skills to community members and professionals working with vulnerable people.  We also deliver training about mental health issues, self injury and recovery.

For us, smashing down the stigma and taboo surrounding mental ill health and suicide is a huge part of our work.

Based in the South East of England, since 1997 we have trained over 3,500 people in suicide prevention and mental health.

We have seats on several advisory committees in Brighton & Hove and have contributed to both local and national suicide prevention and self-harm strategies. We are proudly working towards making Brighton & Hove the UK’s first Suicide-Safer City.

We will implement a plan that will help the city achieve certain milestones over a 3 year period and result in the city being awarded this internationally-recognised designation.

This is where you come in!  We are looking for expressions of interest from local businesses, organisations and individuals who would like to take part in the leadership committee.

To find out more, or to express an interest, email:
chris@prevent-suicide.org.uk