Richard Jeneway talks about his appointment as a trustee at Lunch Positive, the weekly lunch club for people with HIV, offering food, friendship community and peer support.
“HIV AFFECTS us all in differing ways, for many of us closely, others less so. For me it feels that World Aids Day remains highly important because of the contributions and impact made by those who have passed, and whose loss we still feel.
They, together with the contributions of those still living with HIV, and those volunteering and working in the field make our lives possible today by better understanding HIV, ensuring research into improved treatments. Including: better tolerated medications, the emergence and development of highly effective prevention, enabling longer lives and the possibility of improved health. This is something I am strongly passionate about.
In 2011, I co-founded a small Peer lead community project with local and national funding from Rainbow Fund and the Lottery, with the focus on well-being, yoga and therapies for people with HIV or affected by HIV.
Since then I have trained as a mentor on the Project 100 course and now when my ongoing health issues issues allow me help people with HIV in a mentoring capacity as a volunteer.
Way back in time I went to a local HIV Project called Open Door, where I met Gary Pargeter. Since then, with a group of volunteers, Gary has gone on to found and establish Lunch Positive as a weekly lunch club for people with HIV.
In January this year I became a trustee with Lunch Positive. The charity has gone on to make accessible technical training available for my needs, (I was diagnosed HIV positive in 1994 when I became ill at work with pneumonia and the CMV virus. In 2006 I totally lost my sight, which is a legacy of cytomegalovirus) which supports me to fully engage with the work of the Charity now and in the future.
Lunch Positive is a peer led safe and friendly space where acceptance, empathy, supportiveness are the ethos of this community organisation. The service is provided by a brilliant team of volunteers, all caring passionately about what they do.
This is a welcoming social space for everyone affected by HIV, with over 50 people attending weekly of all ages, genders and cultures. Some are recently diagnosed others long-term diagnosed; the most important things is that everyone is welcome.
Volunteering is not just about giving. Hopefully like me, in return you gain a sense of being valued, heard, visible, useful and befriended. Your voice is genuinely valued. Some of us long-term HIV survivors are now entering older age and with Brighton statistics showing that almost 50 per cent of patients at the Lawson unit are aged 50 or over, we are a group that will inevitably continue to grow.
Some older people feel alone and isolated so it is important to consider everyone in any strategy as we age, Lunch Positive is a place that can break that isolation. If you would like to hear more please get in touch with Gary the Service Manager, one of the Volunteers or Trustees at Lunch Positive.
Thank you for reading this piece and I truly hope it gives you food for thought.
For more information about Lunch Positive, click here:
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