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Peer Action receive Lottery award

Peer Action has received a grant of £10,000 from the National Lottery Awards For All programme.

Peer ActionPeer Action, is a HIV+ peer support and social group for people living with HIV in Brighton & Hove, Sussex, UK. 

WEB.300The grant will enable Peer Action to promote events aimed at improving emotional wellbeing and help reduce social isolation of those affected by HIV in Brighton and Hove and surrounding areas, as well as allowing Peer Action to participate in the Pride Community Parade in 2016.

Peer Action events during 2016 will include social and educational trips, training, hypnotherapy and life skills events.

For more information about Peer Action, click here:

THT urges wider use of HPV vaccine

Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) welcomes step in the right direction for HPV vaccine, but insists it only will be effective through wide availability.

Terrence HIggins Trust

The Government decision to extend the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine to Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) aged up to 45 via GUM clinics, has been welcomed by THT, but the UK’s largest HIV and sexual health charity is warning that to be most effective the vaccine must be made available widely to all boys before they are sexually active. Currently girls receive the vaccine in schools.

The decision means that MSM aged up to 45 – the group of men most likely to acquire HPV – will be able to access the HPV vaccine, but school-aged boys will remain unprotected from HPV-related conditions unless they visit a GUM clinic.

THT is urging the government to provide a gender-neutral vaccine that covers boys as well as girls before they are sexually active. The HPV vaccine is available to all school girls aged 12-13 on the NHS.

A gender-neutral vaccine will help protect 400,000 boys every year, and reduce the risk they will acquire the common sexually transmitted virus that can cause a range of cancers, including penile, anal and oral, as well as genital warts.

Dr Shaun Griffin
Dr Shaun Griffin

Dr Shaun Griffin, Executive Director External Affairs, Terrence Higgins Trust, said: “This is an important step in the right direction but it is unfortunately not enough.

“We need a gender-neutral vaccination programme so that all boys are covered. This vaccine should continue to be administered in schools – as is the case currently for all girls – but children of both genders receive it in this setting, before they are sexually active, enhancing the vaccine’s effectiveness.

“There are clearly equalities issues here with the vaccine currently being available widely for girls but not boys, now that the case has been made for its use in MSM. The government must prioritise a gender-neutral vaccine as a matter of urgency and we will continue to campaign for its availability.

“The government already spends £60 million per year on treating genital warts which if left untreated can cause head and neck, penile and anal cancers. It is estimated that it would cost just £22 million per year to make the HPV vaccine available to all school-aged boys.”

Lunch Positive at Christmas and New Year

Lunch Positive, the weekly HIV lunch club that provides a healthy meal, community and social space for people with HIV has special events and arrangements over Christmas and New Year.

Lunch Positive The lunch club is open every Friday except Christmas Day, and has two special lunches planned. Members new and old, and those from other HIV organisations and support groups are all invited. Both special lunches are provided free, and there’s no need to book ahead.

Friday December 18 – Christmas Lunch. A special three course Christmas meal, with all the trimmings, and a raffle! Doors open at 11am with lunch served at 1pm. The lunch club will be open until 4 p.m.

Friday January 1 – New Year’s Lunch. A traditional roast lunch to celebrate the New Year together. Doors open at 12 noon with lunch served at 1pm.

Food hampers  are available to people with HIV experiencing financial crisis over the Christmas period. These will be distributed at the lunch club following the Christmas Lunch on December 18. People should get in touch directly with Lunch Positive to find out more about these.

Gary Pargeter
Gary Pargeter

Gary Pargeter, Service Manager: “At a special time of year  when many people spend time together and celebrate friendship and community, Christmas and New Year can also be difficult, and often socially isolating. We want to do all we can to provide a welcoming and safe space, bringing people together to find friendship and support in the company of others with HIV.

“As a new year approaches, a special thank you goes to all our volunteers who have given in total over 4,000 hours to the lunch cub in 2015, and whose dedication is outstanding. Many will be volunteering in Christmas week to prepare for our New Year’s lunch, a great example of their commitment and enthusiasm. Thank you everyone who has volunteered, supported and come along to Lunch Positive over the last year, and we hope you can make some of the special lunches we have planned!

For more information about Lunch Positive, click here:

Brighton homeless charity to receive ‘bite’ out of Christmas sandwich donations

The Clock Tower Sanctuary, which supports homeless young people in Brighton & Hove, has been chosen as one of five charities to feature on sandwich and salad boxes sold in Pret A Manger’s 300 food shops nationwide.

Pret A Manger

50p from every sandwich and baguette sold from Pret’s Christmas range will be donated to the Pret Foundation Trust to support its charity partners, including The Clock Tower Sanctuary.

This winter The Clock Tower Sanctuary will receive over 1,000 visits by homeless young people who have nowhere to call home. The day centre offers a safe place where young people receive support, advice and help to get their lives back on track and away from the dangers of a life on the street.

The Clock Tower Sanctuary is encouraging local people to pop into Pret, grab a specially packaged sandwich with its logo on and upload a selfie to Twitter or Facebook using the hashtag #sarnieselfie and join in the fun!

Kate Kirkham, Director at The Clock Tower Sanctuary, said: “Brighton and Hove has one of the biggest homeless populations in the UK and youth homelessness is a particular issue.”

She added: “The support we’ve had from Pret customers has been incredibly helpful and we’re chuffed to bits to be benefiting from their support this Christmas too.”

Mark, 24 years old, who has been supported by The Sanctuary, says: “Without The Sanctuary I would still be sleeping in a tent under Brighton Pier, it’s as simple as that. It’s great so many people will find out about The Sanctuary!” 

Nicki Fisher, Head of the Pret Foundation Trust, said: “The Pret Foundation Trust raised an incredible £1.5m for our charity partners last year, and this year we’re hoping to beat that figure again. Donations from our Christmas products play a huge part in this.”

She added: “This year’s ‘A Little Thank You’ campaign is our chance to connect our customers to some of the organisations they support every time they buy one of our soups throughout the year, or our sandwiches at Christmas. Whether knowingly or not, they’re making a huge difference to the lives of people who need it most.”

 

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