Emotional Peer Support.

Support groups are especially important to people living with HIV. So many emotions confront people after they have been diagnosed. As they face changing social supports and financial situations, they can become frightened, bewildered, and worried. When others reject them and treat them inappropriately, they can become depressed, angry, and isolated.

Service Users enjoying a free hot meal.

What/How will joining a Support Group help me?

Support groups help to meet the needs of people living with HIV by:

• providing a relaxed and informal place to share experiences and build new friendships.
• giving them an opportunity of discussing relationships, legal, health, medication and other common issues that concern them.
• providing a support group of their peers to discuss the effects of HIV in their lives.
• meeting with other people who have had similar experiences and realising that they are not alone and that they can continue to live their lives .... albeit with a few modifications.
• accepting and realising that HIV support groups become a new major source of love and acceptance.
• providing a safe non judgemental environment.
• where people with similar experiences can vent their feelings and work on their problems.
• exploring issues that concern them.
• widen their base of friends.

What other service users say....

"I could share my deepest secrets with some of these people, and still be loved. When I first became ill it was the group that gave me the strength that kept me going.In the group we talked about life, love and the importance of taking my medication. We also had guest speakers who came to talk to us about nutrition, exercise, complimentary therapy, legal aspects, alternative medicines and many other things. We also had social evenings and outings. It saved my life and made me realise that I could still live a long and fruitful life."

Living with HIV is difficult and challenging. It affects us all as individuals, a community, a nation, and a world in every aspect of our very existence. Having HIV has forced us to look at the way that we, as a society, have treated not only people living with HIV but people with other life threatening illnesses or disabilities

One good result of all this is that it has brought together people of all backgrounds, races, cultures,religions, economic classes and different sexes/genders to join together in common cause to fight this virus and the stigma attached to it.

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