Empowering POSITIVE PEOPLE
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The 'Living Well with HIV' conference, organised by Jack Summerside and
his team from the Terrence Higgins Trust, attracted nearly 200 delegates
to Holborn's Conway Hall last month.
Joseph O'Reilly, manager of the UK Network of Self-Help HIV and Aids Groups,
addressed what he saw as the future agenda in this country.
"There is a lack of consensus about who is doing what and why for
HIV positive people," he said.
"Positive people must have more say in their own future," he
stressed. "People with HIV are often only seen as consumers of
healthcare services and any involvement is just tokenistic."
"The many competing claims by organisations within the HIV sector
also mean that there is also a danger of positive people being overlooked,"
he added.
Justine Sserwadda of the Newham HIV Advocacy Project said that it was
important for positive people to come out about their status so they can
then be role models for others. As a mother of three living in east London
who had already lost three brothers to Aids, she said that other HIV positive
people had given her the energy and power to do the work she is now doing.
She called on others to get more involved.
"It is unfair not to give back support and help to others with the
virus," Justine added.
One of the highlights of the afternoon was a meeting chaired by Paul
