Healthy Gay Nottingham Latest news

News

Here at last a page to find out what we’re up to and any other news you might find useful. The aim is that it will be updated on a regular basis so if you have any news you feel might be of interest in terms of gay and bi men’s health and well being, then please do contact us.

The site was launched in July 2007 and since that time has had a steady increase in visits. This is wonderful as it took so many years to get the go ahead to have one in the first place. This was largely due to much misinformation as to how we go about it, but we received the full support of Nottingham City PCT to launch the site. Now due to the overwhelming generosity of a key community figure we have this wonderful site. If there are any additions you think might be worth adding then please do let us know.

As for the service itself the biggest change has been in the name and the new logo. From Gai Project to Healthy Gay Nottingham. Why ? It has changed to reflect how we have developed into a far more holistic service, dealing as much with a persons emotional well being as well as their sexual health. We hope that this will be reflected in the types of things we can offer in the future i.e. group work, out of hours sexual health screening, alternative approaches to stress, harm reduction advice and support in relation to drink and drugs and life affirming classes on coming out, being in a relationship and even how to get a boyfriend (results on this one sadly don’t come with a guarantee)

It has been a strange time as there has only been one full time member of staff out of a team of 3 since December 2006. As some of you who have visited the site before are aware the two posts were due to be advertised. Due to a number of problems this has not been the case. The current situation is that we are awaiting to be relocated in order that we can recruit to these posts. At present all the outreach work is undertaken by a team of sessional workers.

So I hear you asking, how long will that be? Well things are said to be moving ahead and it is hoped that we will be relocated in the next 3-4 months (watch this space !).

So what have we been up to since the site was launched ??

We hosted the evening for the CHAPS conference in Nottingham (a national/international conference which brings together gay men’s workers and other interested parties) with the generous and overwhelming support of NG1, who opened their doors for us on a Tuesday night. The event was open to anyone and was described as one of the ‘best gay nights out in a long time’ …. Not sure if this referred to the amount of new men available. There are some photos of the event in the gallery.

A new and exciting (and very funny yet informative) Sti booklet was released. This can be down loaded in the resources section or available through the Health Shop or at our outreach stalls.

World AIDS Day saw the outreach team dressed up and visiting every gay bar to raise awareness and also money for the local Hardship Fund for people living with HIV. Through the generosity of those we encountered we raised . Thank you to all who gave. Pics on the gallery.

The service has continued to provide (almost unbroken) their weekly condom drops to the local gay venues and also continued regular outreach sessions at these venues. This has at times involved the police who gave away goodies and advice about personal safety.

So that just about brings it to a close. A final big thank you goes to all those volunteers who pack our Shag packs, without whom we could not maintain our distribution scheme. If you have spare time and want to get involved please feel free to contact us.

Hope to see a lot of you at Pride in Nottingham

All the best and stay safe.

Healthy Gay Nottingham

E-Mail healthygaynottingham@nottinghamcity-pct.nhs.uk

© Copyright 2007 HGN


		News Here at last a page to find out what we’re up to and any other news you might find useful. The aim is that it will be updated on a regular basis so if you have any news you feel might be of interest in terms of gay and bi men’s health and well being, then please do contact us. The site was launched in July 2007 and since that time has had a steady increase in visits. This is wonderful as it took so many years to get the go ahead to have one in the first place. This was largely due to much misinformation as to how we go about it, but we received the full support of Nottingham City PCT to launch the site. Now due to the overwhelming generosity of a key community figure we have this wonderful site. If there are any additions you think might be worth adding then please do let us know. As for the service itself the biggest change has been in the name and the new logo. From Gai Project to Healthy Gay Nottingham. Why ? It has changed to reflect how we have developed into a far more holistic service, dealing as much with a persons emotional well being as well as their sexual health. We hope that this will be reflected in the types of things we can offer in the future i.e. group work, out of hours sexual health screening, alternative approaches to stress, harm reduction advice and support in relation to drink and drugs and life affirming classes on coming out, being in a relationship and even how to get a boyfriend (results on this one sadly don’t come with a guarantee) It has been a strange time as there has only been one full time member of staff out of a team of 3 since December 2006. As some of you who have visited the site before are aware the two posts were due to be advertised. Due to a number of problems this has not been the case. The current situation is that we are awaiting to be relocated in order that we can recruit to these posts. At present all the outreach work is undertaken by a team of sessional workers. So I hear you asking, how long will that be? Well things are said to be moving ahead and it is hoped that we will be relocated in the next 3-4 months (watch this space !). So what have we been up to since the site was launched ?? We hosted the evening for the CHAPS conference in Nottingham (a national/international conference which brings together gay men’s workers and other interested parties) with the generous and overwhelming support of NG1, who opened their doors for us on a Tuesday night. The event was open to anyone and was described as one of the ‘best gay nights out in a long time’ …. Not sure if this referred to the amount of new men available. There are some photos of the event in the gallery. A new and exciting (and very funny yet informative) Sti booklet was released. This can be down loaded in the resources section or available through the Health Shop or at our outreach stalls. World AIDS Day saw the outreach team dressed up and visiting every gay bar to raise awareness and also money for the local Hardship Fund for people living with HIV. Through the generosity of those we encountered we raised . Thank you to all who gave. Pics on the gallery. The service has continued to provide (almost unbroken) their weekly condom drops to the local gay venues and also continued regular outreach sessions at these venues. This has at times involved the police who gave away goodies and advice about personal safety. So that just about brings it to a close. A final big thank you goes to all those volunteers who pack our Shag packs, without whom we could not maintain our distribution scheme. If you have spare time and want to get involved please feel free to contact us. Hope to see a lot of you at Pride in Nottingham All the best and stay safe. Healthy Gay Nottingham E-Mail healthygaynottingham@nottinghamcity-pct.nhs.uk © Copyright 2007 HGN