Tell us about your role at Positive East and the services you provide to the City and Hackney community?
I manage the Prevention & Testing team, which works within the community providing free HIV and STI tests, sexual health advice and support across East London, including City and Hackney.
Within the team, my colleagues Euriza and Tresca also work on Project Community. This project works specifically alongside City & Hackney residents providing information and advice around sexual health, running workshops and events, all aiming to improve the sexual and reproductive health outcomes of Black African, Black Caribbean, and other minoritised communities in the borough.
What are some of the reasons people might be reluctant to approach you and how do you help them overcome perceived stigmas?
We offer easy-to-access testing in spaces in the community that residents are already familiar with and accessing, helping to make testing a more convenient part of their everyday lives. We also ensure we provide everyone with enough information to make informed decisions about their sexual health, whether that is helping them to access information about HIV prevention, contraception or support into other services that can help improve their sexual wellbeing. We have a very easy-to-use booking system on our website that residents can use to book their tests (www.positiveeast.org.uk/HIVtest) or they can phone us on 020 7791 2855, or email [email protected]
People are often reluctant to test as they are worried about confidentiality, or about being judged by their community. We can ensure that our services are confidential, non- judgmental and our staff are always friendly and approachable. We try to place ourselves in a range of settings and different communities to normalise conversations around sexual and reproductive health. This helps to break down stigma within communities. Testing is for everyone and anyone, and we are always happy to have a chat and help.
What made you join the Community Health Champions programme, and how do you hope the programme will impact your organisation and/or service users?
We feel like being a part of the programme is important, as sexual and reproductive health should always be a part of people’s health and wellbeing. We know that it is not always prioritised and often, due to stigma and people not feeling comfortable to bring it up, it is not mentioned in other health settings. We hope that by being part of the group, we can encourage other health professionals and organisations to support and signpost people to sexual health services and help to normalise the conversation.
How can other Champions, especially those with limited/no experience around sexual and reproductive health, help support people to access your services and break down barriers that prevent people from engaging with your services, such as stigma or embarrassment?
It would be great if other Champions could hold some resources about Positive East and our services, HIV and sexual health, so that when they are speaking to residents about all other health needs, they are able to bring sexual health and HIV to the table and signpost people to test or speak to us as they need. They can even help them book a test on our website. We understand that not all Champions feel confident in this area, but we would be happy to provide training to help with this!
We want to normalise sexual and reproductive health as part of the health and wellbeing conversation, and not treat it any differently than people checking their blood pressure. We offer a range of support with HIV prevention and sexual health, as well as supporting people living with HIV in East London. This can hugely benefit all communities in City and Hackney! We invite anyone interested in learning more to get in touch.
Website: https://www.positiveeast.org.uk
Phone: 020 7791 2855
Email: [email protected]
Find out more about Community Health Champions and how you can take part.