Rainbow Fund reports on HIV grant funding made possible by Brighton Pride

Since its inception, the Rainbow Fund has repeatedly supported a range of local community groups and charities working in the field of HIV.

Last year funding was provided to groups including the Sussex Beacon, Lunch Positive and Peer Action.

The Sussex Beacon offers specialist care and support for men, women and families affected by HIV. Their services are designed to improve health, reduce stigma and prevent premature death. In November, The Sussex Beacon was awarded £4,000 by the Rainbow Fund to support their new Occupational Therapy project. Thanks to this funding they were able to provide 77 occupational therapy based rehabilitation sessions for people with complex, HIV related illnesses.

Occupational Therapy helps people return to independent living by helping to develop, recover or maintain daily living skills. Their Occupational Therapist works with the patients to improve physical, psychological and cognitive functions, which helps people to be discharged safely, more quickly and to live independently at home.

A spokesperson for The Sussex Beacon said: “Rainbow Fund funding has been extremely useful in helping the Sussex Beacon to lever in additional funds for our Occupational Therapy project.”

Paul Elgood, Chairman of the Rainbow Fund said: ‘This is a good example of the benefit our funding makes, thanks to the generosity of our supporters. The difference Brighton Pride makes to the local LGBT and HIV community can be seen very clearly through these 77 sessions, which simply would not have been possible without theirs and other’s support. Thank you to Pride and all of our supporters.”